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Windows XP To Get Longhorn Technologies

SilentChris writes "According to CNet, Microsoft is revising their plan for Longhorn. In addition to scaling back WinFS, they will also have separate releases of Avalon (the new graphical system) and Indigo (a new network architecture) for Windows XP and 2003. If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?"

451 comments

  1. Why Longhorn Stuffs? by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Insightful
    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?"

    Silly Chris, It'll introduce more bugs and keep you more tightly bound than ever to Microsoft Update, because you'll have so much time and energy vested in keeping your system going you'll be terrified of switching -- I think it's something like the Stockholm Syndrome. Maybe it should have it's own name: Redmond Syndrome.

    Further, you'll probably find everything doesn't work as well with your current video card and networking so you'll have to buy *NEW* stuff from vendors -- stuff endorsed by Microsoft as being up to snuff with their shell-game specifications.

    As for Longhorn, you'll still buy it like all the other cattle (Ha! Longhorn! Cattle! Now I see the connection!) when it comes out, by the way, I expect the successor to Longhorn to be Bighorn (Guess the species! ;-)

    Now please excuse me while I bash my head against the wall for having made sport of my Sith Master, Bill in a prior post.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Why Longhorn Stuffs? by rjamestaylor · · Score: 2, Funny
      • Longhorn stuffs
      In Texas, we refer to that as Bull stuffs. In polite company, I mean.
      --
      -- @rjamestaylor on Ello
    2. Re:Why Longhorn Stuffs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Thanks for getting that tidy response in early.

      Another item behind the pre-release is it's clear Longhorn will take too long to appear; Microsoft is trying to convince corporate players that they're the DRM choice. They've got to move on that front faster than god-knows-when-now Longhorn will come out. (We'll get dribs and drabs, but real lock-down requires a whole OS.)

      Consider: MS may lose the the OS market to Linux, but does it matter if they gain control of the interface between data and app? Think way ahead here and watch that one.

    3. Re:Why Longhorn Stuffs? by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Insightful
      MS may lose the the OS market to Linux, but does it matter if they gain control of the interface between data and app?

      Indeed, this is the facet not often considered when anyone upgrades -- beyond the announced features, what other things are creeping into my system. "Oh, I've got XML for Office! Neat!" as opposed to "Oh, I'm stuck with their bastardized and copyrighted version of XML! Shit!"

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    4. Re:Why Longhorn Stuffs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm still trying to figure out why I should upgrade from Windows 98... :-/

    5. Re:Why Longhorn Stuffs? by Spetiam · · Score: 1

      DRM? Are they mixing that Longhorn "feature" into XP?

    6. Re:Why Longhorn Stuffs? by I(rispee_I(reme · · Score: 3, Funny

      visit file:///C:/Con/Con for one of many valid reasons to upgrade your operating system.

    7. Re:Why Longhorn Stuffs? by AstroDrabb · · Score: 3, Insightful
      "Oh, I'm stuck with their bastardized and copyrighted version of XML! Shit!"
      That should be:
      "Oh, I'm stuck with their bastardized and patented version of XML! Shit!"
      --
      If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land,
      it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. -James Madison
    8. Re:Why Longhorn Stuffs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Longhorn is now officially renamed Little Steer.

      For those of you without knowledge of animal husbandry, ranching, or veterinary medicine a steer is a bovine that has not reached sexual maturity and is castrated.

      The emasculation of Microsoft's efforts is reason enough to suspect that Windows will never produce a robust line of operating systems.

      Imagine, all those brilliant minds in Redmond and the best they can do is change the labeling on the box for another XP variant.

    9. Re:Why Longhorn Stuffs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      dude.. that is one of the lamest +5 post I have read. I'm truly ashamed of this community of moderators.

    10. Re:Why Longhorn Stuffs? by MurphyZero · · Score: 1

      I installed WinXP SP2, and so far, only one program has broken....Internet Explorer. OF course the only reason I used it was for ...Windows Update. I think Microsoft is encouraging other OS use.

      --
      Our founding fathers removed the guys in charge. Be American. Vote incumbents out.
  2. I want to know too! by Carnildo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "[W]hat is the incentive to upgrade?"

    I want to know that too. I'm running Win98SE without any trouble. Why should I upgrade to Longhorn?

    --
    "They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
    1. Re:I want to know too! by ackthpt · · Score: 2, Informative
      I want to know that too. I'm running Win98SE without any trouble. Why should I upgrade to Longhorn?

      Wasn't Win98SE support to be discontinued? Maybe there was a stay of execution -- I seem to recall Microsoft trying to shead the image of a leech requiring blood too often by stating 7 years would be the support period.

      By the way, you were supposed to upgrade to Win2K then WinXP. Didn't you get the memo?

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:I want to know too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm running Win98SE without any trouble. Why should I upgrade to Longhorn?

      Random Guess: You desperately want to see Doom 3 run on your old hardware at .5 fps?

    3. Re:I want to know too! by Janek+Kozicki · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "[W]hat is the incentive to upgrade?"

      I want to know that too. I'm running Win98SE without any trouble. Why should I upgrade to Longhorn?


      you shouldn't, unless you plan to upgrade your hardware too.

      --
      #
      #\ @ ? Colonize Mars
      #
    4. Re:I want to know too! by stud9920 · · Score: 0, Troll

      Because Win98 is a poorly designed, unstable, buggy excuse for an OS that probably puts Microsoft engineers themselves to shame ?

    5. Re:I want to know too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      s/Win98/WinXP/

    6. Re:I want to know too! by Mateito · · Score: 2, Funny

      ... and he should upgrade to Longhorn, why?

    7. Re:I want to know too! by XaviorPenguin · · Score: 1

      I am running Windows XP Pro w/SP1 from http://www.autopatcher.com/, why should I upgrade to SP2?

      --
      Friends help you move...
      REAL Friends help you move dead bodies... ^_^
    8. Re:I want to know too! by Vlad_the_Inhaler · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Win98SE? This is a Linux site :-)

      Seriously, there is no 'incentive to upgrade'. How many people replace one version of Windows by another? Maybe some do to get away from an unsupported version like Win95, or a version which does not support new peripherals like Win98, but not that many people upgrade. The market has moved on from the days where the choice was between Win 3.11 and Win95.

      The market is in new systems. The natural (non-)decision is to get the newest version available, and that will eventually be Longhorn. Microsoft would save themselves a lot of money by not bothering to produce a new version of Windows. Then again, how long has WinXP been on sale? Maybe they are doing exactly that.

      --
      Mielipiteet omiani - Opinions personal, facts suspect.
    9. Re:I want to know too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I still have clients running Windows 3.11

      Which is "Good Enough" given that they only do terminal emulation or WordProcessing

      And all in less than 32MB Ram and 200MB Hard disc, on Pentium 90's

      As they say, all else is Bloat

    10. Re:I want to know too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm still running Win98 as well, but my incentive to upgrade has arrived: Doom 3 only runs on 2k or xp.

    11. Re:I want to know too! by Carnildo · · Score: 2, Informative

      you shouldn't, unless you plan to upgrade your hardware too.

      Actually, my next computer will probably be running it too. There's a hack to get around the 768MB limit, and my understanding is that 98SE will simply ignore any CPUs beyond the first, so I shouldn't have any trouble.

      --
      "They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
    12. Re:I want to know too! by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Support? What support? I didn't think they even supported XP...

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    13. Re:I want to know too! by Carnildo · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm still running Win98 as well, but my incentive to upgrade has arrived: Doom 3 only runs on 2k or xp.

      Is that the real limit, or are those just the "officialy supported" OSs? I know of (and play) several games that are supposedly 2K/XP only on my 98SE box.

      --
      "They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
    14. Re:I want to know too! by GeekZilla · · Score: 1

      Better security! Yeah, that's it!

      wait a minute...

      --
      Veritas patesco per quaestio questio. Truth is revealed through questions.
    15. Re:I want to know too! by tuple · · Score: 1

      After googling, I found these, http://gaming.vulpinetech.com/ and http://www.forumplanet.com/planetdoom/topic.asp?fi d=5733&tid=1438516 for running doom3 in win98, though I can't testify that it actually works.

    16. Re:I want to know too! by Shulai · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The fact is, their OS business model is near to finished. They know it and they are concerned since several years.

      People is increasingly satisfied with their computers, and there is no reasons to upgrade to Longhorn, and it is so far away there is no much interest besides in Windows loving geeks dying for a stolen beta. People who won't upgrade could switch to Linux, and giving more than 2 years of time with no answers to this is dangerous for them.

      Picking some stuff and releasing it early is maybe a way to keep people interested. Of course, it makes Longhorn itself less interesting, but with people sticking with Windows 98 they are in a increasingly difficult position.

      But, of course, the key of the business is not in the OS itself, but in the apps you run over it. After Longhorn is out, they will release Longhorn-only apps, don't care if your have an Avaloned/Indigoed WinXP, LH will have newer, larger and probably not fully compatible versions, and the current move will only be a way for MS taking some breath until this happens, in the same way Win32s was when Win95/Chicago was mostly vapor.

    17. Re:I want to know too! by cleverhandle · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Seriously, there is no 'incentive to upgrade'. How many people replace one version of Windows by another?

      Corporations and other volume buyers certainly do. Maybe not the moment the new version comes out, but eventually many will want all their desktops to run the same version OS - even small differences in the system's behavior and management tools can add up to a lot of extra complexity when you're managing hundreds or thousands of machines. So after they get a few dozen new machines in the door (likely to be loaded with Longhorn), the pressure to upgrade the rest will start to build.
    18. Re:I want to know too! by Shulai · · Score: 1

      Good for you. I have a customer that moved on from 95 to XP, mostly because is becoming harder to run new software on it.

      However, I have a lot of problems now, as is hard to get running old Win95/3.1/DOS software they still need. I am even scared of SP2, as I guess I could get even more incompatibility I already have.

    19. Re:I want to know too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      yo shuga lipz... im liek all about da grammaz and ur sig's semicolon iz like total impropz. it shood be a colon, n' the b in bittah needz to be cased lower. ya look dumb usin a semicolon... leik u cant type er somthin.

    20. Re:I want to know too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually there is a reason.

      I'm currently borrowing a laptop with 98 installed, to write my dissertation. Open word, a few IEs, and a couple remote desktop windows, and the machine runs out of resources. Not memory, Resources, like file and window handles. Win98 has a limited number of these (64k?), while the NT line of kernels have, you know, 4 billion.

      I have to keep the resource monitor open, or every once in a while things won't redraw corretly and such (program can't get a handle for a drawing pen, colors get screwed). Worse things can happen too.

      So, no, no way I'm keeping 98 any longer than I have to. I mean Wine probably does a better job (I dunno, haven't tried it).

      Upgrade to NT 3.51 or 4. I used NT since 3.0, and had no complaints.

      Now, if you were asking whether to upgrade 2000->XP, yeah, that's a stupid idea.

    21. Re:I want to know too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Running EOLed software is like having unprotected sex with a different woman every night. Sure, it may suit you just fine, but think about all the people you're infecting with viruses.

      Upgrade for the regular security fixes, you're just being unhygienic otherwise.

    22. Re:I want to know too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I want to know that too. I'm running Win98SE without any trouble. Why should I upgrade to Longhorn?

      uh, because 98SE is a POS compared to XP?

      Thought that'd be kind of obvious... but you're probably one of those users who "surfs the web" and reads email... and not much else.

      So do everyone a favor and stay where ya are :)

    23. Re:I want to know too! by Carnildo · · Score: 1

      I'm currently borrowing a laptop with 98 installed, to write my dissertation. Open word, a few IEs, and a couple remote desktop windows, and the machine runs out of resources. Not memory, Resources, like file and window handles. Win98 has a limited number of these (64k?), while the NT line of kernels have, you know, 4 billion.

      Games usually don't use much in the way of GDI or User resources -- they just pop up a fullscreen window to keep the window manager happy, and talk directly with DirectX or OpenGL. For non-gaming work, I dual-boot Gentoo.

      --
      "They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
    24. Re:I want to know too! by grolschie · · Score: 1

      I was gonna reply with a witty retort but was denied. ;-)

      "Due to excessive bad posting from this IP or Subnet, anonymous comment posting has temporarily been disabled. You can still login to post. However, if bad posting continues from your IP or Subnet that privilege could be revoked as well. If it's you, consider this a chance to sit in the timeout corner or login and improve your posting . If it's someone else, this is a chance to hunt them down. If you think this is unfair, please email moderation@slashdot.org with your MD5'd IPID and SubnetID, which are... "

    25. Re:I want to know too! by prockcore · · Score: 1

      I'm running Win98SE without any trouble. Why should I upgrade to Longhorn?

      Well, because software has stopped supporting win9x? iTunes an Doom3 are two products that come immediately to mind. Both require 2000 or XP.

    26. Re:I want to know too! by speeDDemon+(nw) · · Score: 1

      I know that Dosbox is a great way to get older DOS games running on XP. Im sure their are other projects aimed at providing a more accurate 'DOS' environment for more 'standard' applications.

    27. Re:I want to know too! by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      Personally, I had to upgrade to Win2K pro (I got a license with my lappy which is running Slackware now) because I wanted to be able to use my 1GB of ram.

      Supposedly there was a fix for it somewhere but I couldn't be fucked to screw with it.

    28. Re:I want to know too! by toddestan · · Score: 1

      Just because a piece of software has is old does not mean it's unsafe and unsecure to run, especially since many firewalls, spyware killers, and virus scanners have no problem running on 98SE. But that's beside the point, 98SE has yet to be EOL'd by Microsoft anyway.

    29. Re:I want to know too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I run 98 connected directly to comcast, its runs FireFox and TBird fine and Word and Visio and DBArtisan and Excel and putty and distributed.net and FLAC and NAT32 and prime95 and AnalogX NetStat and Ruby Azureus and A4Proxy and Eclipse and various JavaWebStart stuff -

      and I am happy to say that my outbound traffic level is pegged at 0B/s all the time, I stopped running a "personal firewall" (BlackIce, decent, before the forces of darkness bought them) before the firewall viruses came out.

      And it is not like having any kind of sex at all - trust me.

      That said, I do run an OpenBSD 3.5 firewall between my home work XP machine and it's DSL line - XP scares me more than 98.

      And yes, I have SuSE Pro 9.X, an XServe, 3 Sparc Solaris boxes and an alpha so I am not a pawn of the evil empire - got the 98 box used - ha! I made someone else pay the man for me :)

    30. Re:I want to know too! by Vlad_the_Inhaler · · Score: 1

      I just changed jobs.

      The old place was running NT4 until Q2 of 2002. They then upgraded to Win2K although they left Access at the old level because the new one was incompatible to at least one application. The conversion was accompanied by a rollout from Pentium 166 (it was awful!) to those tiny Compaq Celeron 850 PCs. New people later got HP P4 machines but I think they still ran Win2K.

      The new place still uses NT4 but is about to move to XP. Most of the hardware will be replaced, although some of the newer stuff will simply be upgraded. I don't know what the new machines will be but the old ones were a mixture from around the Pentium-III era.

      Large companies do not like having to support masses of users on a mixture of platforms if they can avoid it.

      Most companies upgrade the SW and HW at the same time, according to my own anecdotal evidence based on a very small sample :-)

      --
      Mielipiteet omiani - Opinions personal, facts suspect.
    31. Re:I want to know too! by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      The market is in new systems. The natural (non-)decision is to get the newest version available, and that will eventually be Longhorn. Microsoft would save themselves a lot of money by not bothering to produce a new version of Windows. Then again, how long has WinXP been on sale? Maybe they are doing exactly that.

      But they can't go on like this forever, because at some point someone will be able to say "Well,
      our operating system is not from 2001" and people will want that instead of windows. The age of Windows XP makes it a good target for FUD - especially if you take apps like the Internet Explorer, whose only upgrades in the last few years have been bugfixes, as examples.
      People often think that new == good and XP is certainly not new.

      By the way, if there is one feature I'd like to see getting built into Windows XP it's ext3 support; Windows' current file systems are both sub-optimal (FAT32 is too limited and NTFS is too quirky).

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    32. Re:I want to know too! by aldoman · · Score: 1

      But what happens when they eventually stop working? It's not easy to find Pentium 90s and SIMM's of RAM, even secondhand. It mean's you have to upgrade hardware and find out that it doesn't work on Windows 3.1.

      A similar thing happened to me recently, they were running some specailized realtime OS to run a production line of some sort. It only works with one model of a 386. Why? Because it work's out it's timings absolutley from how long it takes a operation to process. Therefore, if you use a 486, it's too fast. If you use a 286, it's too slow. They are now desperately trying to find someone who will sell them an old 386 box, because it is all linked in with expensive milling hardware aswell. It's going to cost them over $2million (to buy new milling machines, production lines and software) if they can't find it, and it's a fairly small business aswell.

    33. Re:I want to know too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am happy to say that my outbound traffic level is pegged at 0B/s all the time

      Since it is impossible for this to occur with the software you are using (e.g. distributed.net generates traffic), this must only mean that:
      a) Your traffic monitor is malfunctioning, meaning you have a false sense of security, or
      b) Somebody has tampered with your traffic monitor

      Neither of these things reassures me that you aren't spreading viruses/sending spam/hosting kiddy porn/DDOSing.

  3. Obligatory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I have changed my plans. Pray I do not alter them any further.

    -MSFT

    1. Re:Obligatory by DarkHelmet · · Score: 2, Funny

      This bloat is getting worse all the time.

      --
      /^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
    2. Re:Obligatory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This bloat is getting worse all the time.

      Then get some Midol and shut up.

  4. I think... by GregIrwin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I think that they will MOST certainly have other products ot unveil at the same time. They wouldn't just release ALL their new code for an OS, thats just not like thair business model.

    1st...?

    --
    "If it moves, shoot it till it stops moving" -Tex, Brute Force
    1. Re:I think... by dan_sdot · · Score: 1
      They wouldn't just release ALL their new code for an OS, thats just not like thair business model.

      How is that not their business model? What about the "upgrade" from 98 to ME? They changed the way the recycle bin looked. What about 2000 to XP? Again, they changed the look. Even NT 4.0 to 2000 was hardly a change.

    2. Re:I think... by toopc · · Score: 1
      How is that not their business model? What about the "upgrade" from 98 to ME? They changed the way the recycle bin looked. What about 2000 to XP? Again, they changed the look. Even NT 4.0 to 2000 was hardly a change.

      Just upgrade every other version. Not like anyone is holding a gun to your head to do otherwise.

    3. Re:I think... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about the "upgrade" from 98 to ME? They changed the way the recycle bin looked. What about 2000 to XP? Again, they changed the look. Even NT 4.0 to 2000 was hardly a change.

      You can't be THAT dumb. I think you're just being naive to be a brat.

    4. Re:I think... by dotcher · · Score: 1

      NT4 to 2000 was a complete re-working of the user management architecture (for machines in a domain). The workstation changes wern't too visible, though.

    5. Re:I think... by Trelane · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Nope merely millions of other users, each with a little pin.

      --

      --
      Given enough personal experience, all stereotypes are shallow.
    6. Re:I think... by bob670 · · Score: 1

      You must be trolling because you can't really be this clueless, can you?

  5. Wow by Mateito · · Score: 0, Troll
    XP o get longhorn technologies.

    So I'm going to have to upgrade to a 5GHz Pentium IV so XP runs efficiently?

    So what's changed?

    1. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      "So I'm going to have to upgrade to a 5GHz Pentium IV so XP runs efficiently?"

      That is certainly the prayer of Dell, Gateway, HP, and everyone else selling HARDWARE. Are you still wondering WHY all of these vendors ain't in a rush to make Linux their OS of choice???????
      99% of all questions in this world have the same answer.. MONEY.

    2. Re:Wow by Mateito · · Score: 2, Funny
      "What do you get when you multiply six by nine?"

      MONEY

      I like it!

    3. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The remaining 1% is "I fell on it, doctor..."

    4. Re:Wow by niteice · · Score: 1
      Are you still wondering WHY all of these vendors ain't in a rush to make Linux their OS of choice???????
      Because most distros run excellently on 7-year-old hardware?

      (from someone who has tried and succeeded)
      --
      ROMANES EUNT DOMUS
    5. Re:Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you ain't on the bus with the Kerry campaign; you should be.....

  6. The incentive to upgrade... by wyldeone · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Is that, like XP, MS will pay off application developers to cause their apps to break in previous versions. A great example of this is with Adobe, who's latest video offerings only work on XP, forcing me to upgrade.

    --
    In the beginning the universe was created. This made a lot of people very angry and is widely considered as a bad move.
    1. Re:The incentive to upgrade... by mrchaotica · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If you want Adobe stuff, you could upgrade to a Mac instead : D

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    2. Re:The incentive to upgrade... by jackbird · · Score: 4, Informative

      Nothing's forcing you not to use Vegas, Cleaner, and Combustion. All 3 blow the doors off the Adobe equivalent. Vote with your wallet.

    3. Re:The incentive to upgrade... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And my 7.1 sound system is only 5.1 in Windows 2000. I have to move to XP (which will never happen) in order to use it.

      Bummer.

    4. Re:The incentive to upgrade... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Vegas, Cleaner, and Combustion

      Never heard of 'em. Care to elaborate?
    5. Re:The incentive to upgrade... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you're running a server OS instead of a "consumer" OS, but instead of picking a more suitable OS for a kick-arse sound system, you complain here on slashduh?

    6. Re:The incentive to upgrade... by jackbird · · Score: 1
      Vegas was bought from Sonic Foundry. In my opinion, it's the best software NLE on the desktop, FCP included.

      Combustion is the desktop offering from discreet, the folks who make the ultra-expensive Flame and Inferno compositing systems. Same mind-blowing color corrector. Node-based compositing without the price point of Fusion or Shake.

      Cleaner is another discreet product (bought out from someone else), but the previous poster made an excellent case for some alternatives.

  7. Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What Longhorn features is XP getting? The article just says Longhorn won't have them, or they'll be scaled back.

  8. Incentive to upgrade? Not much. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I actually downgraded from XP to 2000 on the windows machines that I use at home because I feel that 2000 is more stable.

    The only thing that interests me in Microsoft's list is their Avalon technology (Quartz ripoff, of course).

    Longhorn just seems to set off more alarm bells than its worth.

  9. History repeats? by Laxori666 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Wwell it seems longhon keeps falling behind schedule, and Microsoft keeps cutting back features to keep the same release date. Maybe Longhorn will be another Windows Me, just something to hold everyone over until they get another release out.

    1. Re:History repeats? by MikeMacK · · Score: 3, Funny
      Maybe Longhorn will be another Windows Me

      I'm sure those words would echo through the halls of Microsoft like the sound of a swift approaching doom!

    2. Re:History repeats? by Rosyna · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This history that is repeating is that Microsoft is once again copying from Apple. Apple had originally made ambitious plans for Copland, a brand new Mac OS with all the goodies. But it kept getting delayed again and again. So apple scrapped it and took all the neat technologies out of it and released quite a few with the then current release of the Mac OS.

    3. Re:History repeats? by LilMikey · · Score: 5, Funny

      Apple had originally made ambitious plans for Copland

      In all fairness I think it was Stallone's acting that did it in.

      --
      LilMikey.com... I'll stop doing it when you sto
    4. Re:History repeats? by gargonia · · Score: 1

      I've always viewed XP as being like ME. It looks to me like Microsoft decided to test the features they were wanting to put into Longhorn, so they released a lot of them on a 2000 platform, where they didn't perform well. That's what they did with ME... they put features they were wanting to put into 2000 on a 98 platform, and they didn't perform well there either.

      --

      -- Gargonia
      Never play leapfrog with a unicorn.

    5. Re:History repeats? by worm+eater · · Score: 1

      They may be cutting back more than this article lets on -- the Register reports that MS is also cutting out Avalon. Of course, this is contrary to what CNet, ZDNet, etc are saying, so I'm not sure who's right. Anyone have any info to settle this question?

      --
      Maybe partying will help...
    6. Re:History repeats? by slughead · · Score: 0, Troll

      Hardware accelerated desktop? OMG STOLEN FROM APPLE!
      Desktop icons? STOLEN! OH THE HUMANITY!
      Menus? HOLY LORD THAT.. oh wait that was one we stole from xerox.. yeah that was my bad, sorry

      If it was so damn bad why didn't Apple stand up in fight when they got the chance. Instead they slacked off during their law suit and got some counter-productive settlement that ended up doing nothing for Apple.

      PS: Hey Setag!
      Font card sucks!

    7. Re:History repeats? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What a load of crap. The only thing at all technically interesting about Copland is that it would be sorta-MacOS-compatible without a heavy Classic layer.

    8. Re:History repeats? by HFXPro · · Score: 1

      I would like to note, Windows has had support for desktop acceleration for some time now (at least since Windows 98). Win2K got alpha transparency (which is done in hardware if available). So it is not like this is new. The new feature is using the 3D capabilties of a GPU to do 2D features.

      --
      Reserved Word.
    9. Re:History repeats? by Stevyn · · Score: 1

      I disagree. Windows Me was that transition between 98SE which was released in 1999 and Windows XP release in 2001. Windows 2000 was not intended to be a home consumer OS so I won't count that. Windows Me had only a few new features. The one that comes to mind was internet connection sharing. It wasn't much, but it did serve a purpose that people liked. However, Windows ME was horribly unstable. Most people don't even consider it since it was so bad and lacked any innovation.

      Windows XP, however, is pretty stable in my mind. I used it for several years and I only encountered a few blue screens. Windows 2000 is a very stable and and secure operating system when properly maintained and protected. Windows XP was based on that but included excellent hardware support. People can bitch all they want, but when I install windows xp on a system, almost all the hardware is set up with drivers and it "just works" out of the box in most cases.

      I've spent a hell of a lot more time tweaking gentoo and windows xp. But that's mainly why I use gentoo, to tweak and fiddle to get it working just the way I like it.

    10. Re:History repeats? by JesusQuintana · · Score: 1

      Ah, yes... Copeland, Gerswin, Yellow Box, Blue Box, A/UX, ProDOS, Blue, Pink, and Red. MkLinux, MacOS, OS X, System 7, and even GS/OS! Is it just me, or has little old Apple developed more Operating Systems than Microsoft?

      There's more about Apple's OS history including Copeland.

      --
      You said it man. Nobody f#%ks with the Jesus.
    11. Re:History repeats? by SmittyTheBold · · Score: 1

      Internet Connection Sharing made its debut in Win98 Second Edition.

      As far as substantial system differences, WinMe added new icons. That's about all I remember. ;)

      --
      ± 29 dB
    12. Re:History repeats? by Ben+Hutchings · · Score: 1
      I disagree. Windows Me was that transition between 98SE which was released in 1999 and Windows XP release in 2001. Windows 2000 was not intended to be a home consumer OS so I won't count that.

      As I understand it, Windows 2000 (NT 5.0) was originally intended to be suitable for home use as well. However, waiting for the necessary work on application compatibility and ease-of-use to be complete would have put 2000 further behind schedule, so that was put off to Windows XP (NT 5.1). Windows Me was just a stopgap.

    13. Re:History repeats? by HerrGoober · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's a bit strong!

      Inappropriate use of the word acting I'd say...

    14. Re:History repeats? by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      Actually, 2000 was supposed to be the consumer version that unified NT and 9x, hence why it was called 2000 (following the 9x naming scheme) and not NT5 as originally planned..
      However, it was too incompatible with existing software for 9x, and noticeably slower at running games.. Also driver support wasn't as good especially for the kind of hardware gamers used..
      Consequently, out came ME.. an intentionally crippled version designed to convince users that the 9x series was total crap and that they must upgrade to xp..
      Admittedly, 9x was total crap... but 98 was always way more stable than ME.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
  10. Well, duh. by Tanktalus · · Score: 0, Troll

    Don't tell me anyone is surprised at this. I mean, even Bill can't believe he has such a tight control of the market that he can delay Windows updates nearly indefinitely and get away with it.

    1. Re:Well, duh. by Mateito · · Score: 3, Funny
      even Bill can't believe he has such a tight control of the market

      C'mon, this is the man credited with saying (on more than one accasion I might add):

      "Bwahahahahahaha. Fools! I'll destroy them all!

    2. Re:Well, duh. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Old Bill also said when him and his mates started up Microsoft "if you put me in control, im not giving up without a fight to the death" was in his Biography on Discovery Channel =/

  11. If most of the updates will be available for curre by phiberhack · · Score: 5, Funny

    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?"

    That it will WORK!

  12. Then dont upgrade.... by Kenja · · Score: 3, Insightful
    "If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?"

    Why does there need to be an incentive to upgrade? People allways complain that Microsoft "forces" them to upgrade (not that they ever have in my opinion), shouldn't we all be happy that thats not going to be the case (assumming that these two things are the only diference between XP and Longhorn, not that they are)?

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:Then dont upgrade.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why does there need to be an incentive to upgrade?

      If there isn't, there is no reason to have two different products. The submitter is asking what the big selling point of Longhorn will be (other than being standard on Dells when it comes out). I think it's a valid question. Can you answer smarty-pants? Or are you just trying to be "insightful"?

    2. Re:Then dont upgrade.... by jamesdood · · Score: 1

      Yeah, tell that to all of the NT4 users out there..

      --
      *narf!*
    3. Re:Then dont upgrade.... by Jeremiah+Cornelius · · Score: 4, Insightful
      It isn't just arbitrary changes to the display model, you foo'!

      If you envied the work Apple did in the Quartz graphics layer, or are supportive of the work Keith Packard is doing for X.org, then Avalon is right up your alley. Goodbye, old GDI. (Well, almost. GDI will now be .dlls that can be called up by Avalon, to display GDI in a window for old apps.

      I understand a modicum of cynicism - but claims that these changes are for arbitrary lack of compatibility betray an unalloyed ignorance.

      --
      "Flyin' in just a sweet place,
      Never been known to fail..."
    4. Re:Then dont upgrade.... by mewphobia · · Score: 1
      Why does there need to be an incentive to upgrade?

      No offence, but microsoft IS a business. Business's are in business to make more business. Kinda like a virus. When a business (especially one with the shrewd monopolistic tactics microsoft has employed in the past) says they are giving something away, there is a catch. Or they will go out of business.

      I think what we're asking is what's the catch? It's diverging off past tactics and we want to know why. If microsoft has suddenly started being an ethical company, that's great. But it doesn't hurt to question why.

    5. Re:Then dont upgrade.... by Foolhardy · · Score: 4, Informative

      I don't understand what is so bad about NT GDI.

      Scaling? World transformations that provide scaling, rotation and shearing have always (since NT3.1) existed. Why isn't it used more often? IDK, but I'm sure they could start using it without a complete rewrite.
      Acceleration? Driver capability negotiation has always been implemented. DirectX also supports many optimizations.
      Possible movement of the window manager into user mode? I'm sure that win32k.sys could be moved back into winsrv.dll like it was before NT4.
      Graphics composition (IE caching of window data to avoid application refresh)? Trivial redirection of video ops to a memory DC and the fact that transparency is already supported without refreshing the lower window, tell me that this could be accomplished without a rewrite too. Besides, I don't know if I like the idea of spending all that memory on storing large bitmaps of how each window looks.
      Vector based drawing? Enhanced Metafiles have always been supported in NT. You can easily redirect the output (all GDI commands can be recorded) of a progam into a EMF, view/edit the records and play it back any time, even with a world transformation.
      Use 3d polygons instead of a 2d frame buffer? This would require considerable modification but only to the way that regions are computed; you can already put direct3d objects in a window with a polygonal region around the edges. One way or the other, you are still outputting to a 2d surface. And really, what is the point? Woo 3d icons.

      Really, what is so broken about GDI that it needs to be replaced? IMO, there are far more important things to be overhauled in Windows than the video system. Rewriting a major component to provide eye candy should be a very low priority.

      Another thing is that Avalon does not fill the same role as GDI does; Avalon also does what USER does and some shell stuff too. I'm saying that the important things in Avalon could be implemented using GDI.

  13. Indigo by M.C.+Hampster · · Score: 5, Funny

    I didn't know about Avalon, but Microsoft has said for quite a while they were going to be releasing Indigo for platforms other than Longhorn. Indigo is a technology that will be replacing .NET remoting and it allows for secure, reliable and transactional communication between .NET applications. It only made sense to have a version available for other versions of Windows to make sure that applications could communicate.

    --
    Forget the whales - save the babies.
    1. Re:Indigo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      blah blah blah secure blah blah reliable blah blah transactional blah blah blah....

    2. Re:Indigo by The+Bungi · · Score: 5, Informative
      Indigo will ship way before Longhorn. Originally it was going to be made available only for XP Pro and 2003, but Microsoft agreed to ship it for Windows 2000 as well. Obviously it won't be integrated into the OS as, say, COM+.

      I loved how the bangboy submitter called it a "new networking architecture". Indigo is a SOA stack that will bring .NET more into J2EE territory. It has less to do with "networking" than building distributed applications.

      I hope this... ah... helps and all that =)

    3. Re:Indigo by Kent+Recal · · Score: 2, Funny

      Microsoft ... secure, reliable ... communication

      I see where your +5 Funny comes from.

    4. Re:Indigo by Moofie · · Score: 1, Funny

      Distributed applications...what a great idea. I think the Blaster Worm would be way better if I could incorporate clustering code.

      --
      Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
    5. Re:Indigo by SilentChris · · Score: 1

      "It has less to do with "networking" than building distributed applications."

      Uh, aren't we talking about essentially the same thing here? If anything it's a subset of networking tech (like .NET, it isn't very well defined) but I wouldn't consider the word "networking" necessarily incorrect.

      Considering the web aspect, it actually has less to do with "distributed applications" and much more with plain old web services. When I think "distributed applications", I think a word processor through a browser. I think this is just going to be more remoting. "Networking" was a generic enough term to use.

    6. Re:Indigo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When I think "distributed applications", I think a word processor through a browser.

      Well, I think setiathome and distributed.net. I think I'm righter than you are too.

    7. Re:Indigo by IncohereD · · Score: 1

      When I think "distributed applications", I think a word processor through a browser.

      Uhh...that's a web service. A distributed application by definition runs on multiple systems at once. A client/server application like that is a very, very limited example of a distributed application, as all the processing is being done on one end.

    8. Re:Indigo by The+Bungi · · Score: 1
      "Networking" was a generic enough term to use.

      What you described were web services, and I wanted to try and make sure that a thousand slashbots didn't start the rumor that Microsoft was re-designing TCP.

      I don't know about you, but when I think "networking" I rarely think of applications.

  14. Historical, People Like Upgrades by Hadur · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What the the reason to upgrade to ME from 98? What was the reason to upgrade to XP from 2000? People like upgrades. Upgrades, no matter how small, bring features. Upgrades have the appearance of better quality and more "on-the-edge."

    Plus, even if two technologies get ported, Longhorn is supposed to be a "unified" desktop with Internet, mail, etc. This is one major reason to upgrade for the tech-newbies and possibly the tech-geeks.

    1. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by ackthpt · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Upgrades, no matter how small, bring features.

      You hear a tinny voice say, "that's not a feature, that's a bug.

      Upgrades have the appearance of better quality and more "on-the-edge."

      *bleed* *bleed* *bleed*

      Historically, particularly in shops I've worked in, we are vveeeerrrryyyy slow to upgrade, typically only introducing new operating system iterations with new computer purchases, while phasing out the old versions. It usually means supporting a few platforms, but far less harrowing than performing a backup, installing the upgrade and seeing things go PFFT! FRACK! POP! SPROING! GING! and trying to simultaneaously comfort a user who has now lost all confidence in technology and it's minions while sorting out the incompatibilities and damages.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Longhorn is supposed to be a "unified" desktop with Internet, mail, etc.

      So the OS won't just be IE anymore? It'll also be Outlook Express? Helloooo viruses.

    3. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by wyldeone · · Score: 0, Troll
      What the the reason to upgrade to ME from 98?

      I, for one, enjoy my operating system crashing eery five minutes. That's a feature you just don't find in 98.

      --
      In the beginning the universe was created. This made a lot of people very angry and is widely considered as a bad move.
    4. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by Scoria · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Longhorn is supposed to be a "unified" desktop with Internet, mail, etc.

      So was Windows 95! Microsoft has promised a revolutionary new interface for several generations of Windows now, but we've only been afforded a new incarnation of the infamous Start button. And, although many argue that the GUI cannot be functionally extrapolated with current hardware, OS X does provide a strong counterargument. Could it be that those who "defend the right to innovate" are simply not particularly innovative themselves?

      --
      Do you like German cars?
    5. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by NeoSkandranon · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What the the reason to upgrade to ME from 98?

      Ignorance, mostly. That or "it came with the new computer"

      --
      If you can't see the value in jet powered ants you should turn in your nerd card. - Dunbal (464142)
    6. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by gmhowell · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Sorry, Windows 95 was a quantum leap over Win 3.1x in terms of interface. Me up to and including 2k3 added very little in terms of interface, but the switch to 2k/XP got rid of the bulk of Win16 cruft (not all. Just like it took forever and a day to 100% drop the 68k stuff from MacOS).

      Also, Internet, mail, etc. weren't ever intended to be part of Win95 in any meaningful way. Remember, this is when the first draft of 'The Road Ahead' came out. Bill's tome that talked about the grand future of computing with not a single word about the internet. Until version 2.0.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    7. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by sidhartha · · Score: 4, Funny

      When I'm done upgrading I can look my wife in the eye and pretend that only an Alpha Nerd could possibly complete such a gargantuan task. She will have to think twice about any plans to leave me for truly there are none higher.

    8. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by karmaflux · · Score: 1

      It's the little stuff that makes XP so much better than 2000. Typical slashdot crap like "LOL FISHER PRICE UI" aside, Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is fucking rad, the shell-integrated unzipping is handy, cleartype is a reason to upgrade all by itself, and let's not forget the bliss wallpaper! Seriously, Windows XP is so much more suited to home use that it's ridiculous.

      --

      REM Old programmers don't die. They just GOSUB without RETURN.

    9. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      score 5 -Insightful- ? I agree with the comment as much as the next guy, but can we not mod humor as funny? Though I would dearly like to upgrade my winxp machine to win2k.

    10. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 1

      The Start button was the revolutionary new interface in Windows 95.

    11. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >>What the the reason to upgrade to ME from 98?
      >
      >Ignorance, mostly. That or "it came with the new computer"

      Speaking as the poor fool who looks after my friends' computers, winME has one huge advantage for some people: you can view files as thumbnails. 98 had a preview in a side panel, but seeing a whole bunch of thumbnails is waaaaaay better if you have a digital camera. It also seems to start up much faster.

      Of course, that's no reason to upgrade. But for the average email/web/word processing user I would recommend ME over 98 given the choice.

    12. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by SeXy_Red · · Score: 1

      and when you don't pay for the upgrades in the first place, why not? I say the one of the best ways to thumb your nose at Microsoft is to pirate all of their software. :P

      --

      This sig was generated by a barrel of trained kittens for SeXy_Red (550409).

    13. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but the "OMG! The Internet is integrated with your PC! Active Desktop! Internet Explorer built in! Amazing new security flaws!" thing was Windows 98. 95 hardly even knew thst the Internet existed.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    14. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      OTOH the way the Explorer handles pictures and refuses to open them in a graphics app by default unless you play around with obscure settings in obscure places is a good reason why XP is the most annoying Windows ever.
      The thing is, Win XP is suited for people who think that IE == the Internet. It's friendly, it wants to take you by the hand and slowly walk you over to where you want to go.
      Which is annoying if you exactly know what you want to do and how to do it. Especially because making it stop is usually extremly un-intuitive - settings are only accessibly if you open five different dialog windows, some of XPs bad behavior can only be fixed by adding undocumented values to the registry...

      XP is a dream for casual users who use their Peecee without knowing much about it. For powerusers who have experience with previous versions of Windows and who just want to do some serious work it's a nightmare.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    15. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by petrus4 · · Score: 1

      >Longhorn is supposed to be a "unified" desktop with >Internet, mail, etc.

      The emphasis on unification and the monolithic model has been what has caused Windows virtually all of its security problems. Our (Linux's) strength is modularity. If Microsoft keep pushing unification, we've got them.

    16. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by angle_slam · · Score: 1
      What was the reason to upgrade to XP from 2000?

      2000 was never intended to be a consumer desktop OS. So the upgrade to XP was from ME or 98 or 95. Also, if you want a real reason to upgrade to XP from 2000--games. 2000 didn't support many games. XP does

    17. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      However your then still adding to their market share, which is exactly what they want. The less that people use alternatives, the more they can deny that alternatives exist and prevent people from supporting them.
      If linux got a huge boost in market share today you can bet all the non-microsoft software companies would start porting their programs to it and hardware makers would be far more inclined to make drivers...
      The best way to thumb your nose at microsoft, is to increase awareness of the alternatives... This will have the side effect of microsoft actually improving their products and lowering prices too.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    18. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      Hey, remember the text you get when installing XP that tells you windows was designed from the ground up for the internet?

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    19. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by SeXy_Red · · Score: 1

      True, but look at it this way: If you are running a lemonade stand, which is going to make you more upset; If nobody buys your product, or if people are coming to your stand and taking your lemonade, but not paying for it?

      --

      This sig was generated by a barrel of trained kittens for SeXy_Red (550409).

    20. Re:Historical, People Like Upgrades by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      But if people steal your lemonade you actually lose out, it costs money to produce lemonade... If someone pirates your software then it costs you nothing, and chances are those people who pirated it wouldn't have bought it anyway.. The alternative to people pirating microsoft software is these people downloading software for free from another source, such as linux.. And as i said in the earlier post, the more people who use alternatives the more third parties will support them, and thus the more end-users who actually pay for software will see and recognise the free options.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
  15. Is this market speak for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...that the new longhorn kernel is shelved "for now", in favor of keeping the nt kernel?

    1. Re:Is this market speak for... by EddWo · · Score: 1

      There never was a Longhorn kernel. It was always going to be NT6.0.

      It will still be NT6.0, but with less userspace stuff on top.

      --
      "Taligent is still pure vapor. Maybe they'll be the last who jumps up on Openstep... "
  16. Simple by Quasar1999 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    You upgrade because DirectX or XNA, or whatever the hell they call the next graphics subsystem used by games will only be available on Longhorn. Why else would you upgrade?

    --

    ---
    Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
  17. Re:Article Text by Carnildo · · Score: 1, Troll

    giving props to his pals at GNAA

    Who modded this informative?

    --
    "They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
  18. Linux is too complicated! by Infonaut · · Score: 2, Funny
    There are so many different distributions and kernels and window managers. It's all so scary, unlike the easy, confusionless, standardized world of Microsoft Windows.

    Errr... .

    --
    Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
  19. Just more junk by iminplaya · · Score: 0, Troll

    to keep wandering eyes away from Linux

    --
    What?
  20. Avalon by user32.ExitWindowsEx · · Score: 1
    Avalon. In a service pack. Lovely. it's going to be so shot through and introduce such a mess.

    I think I'll stick with my PowerBook if I want a fancy OpenGL accelerated GUI. At least Apple didn't shoehorn it onto OS 9.

    p.s. someone help me, please! I've chipped in to the community. You should too. To sweeten the deal, I do have two gmail invites.

    --
    "Evil will always triumph because good is dumb." -- Dark Helmet
    1. Re:Avalon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      p.s. someone help me, please! I've chipped in to the community. You should too.[freeipods.com] To sweeten the deal, I do have two gmail invites.

      Another poor sap who's fallen for the latest pyramid scheme. I almost feel moved to pity him.

    2. Re:Avalon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank you for making me hate iPods. Especially free ones.

    3. Re:Avalon by John+Pliskin · · Score: 0

      Well I signed up.
      Where's my G-mail invite?

      if you need an e-mail, just send it (without the h's) to
      hwinmac101hathmsn.comh

      $

    4. Re:Avalon by user32.ExitWindowsEx · · Score: 1

      as soon as it says you have joined and completed an offer, you'll get your invite...that's what i need to be on my way to get an ipod.

      --
      "Evil will always triumph because good is dumb." -- Dark Helmet
  21. What do you need an 'incentive' for? by MattGWU · · Score: 2, Funny

    A few months after Longhorn comes out, all these XP features will break, legally if not logically, and you'll have to buy Longhorn anyway. How's that for an incentive?

    --
    "These people look deep within my soul and assign me a number based on the order in which I joined" --Homer re:
  22. Longhorn eaten by tiger by GreatDrok · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Blood spurt gush!

    Seriously, Apple is adding features that were supposed to be in Longhorn into Tiger and it will be available early in 2005. Meanwhile MS is removing those same features just so they can hit a 2006 launch date. Huh?

    The funniest bit was all my Windows collegues telling me about how fantastic Longhorn was going to be and how it would allow MS users to overtake the Mac.....

    Guess not!

    --
    "I have the attention span of a strobe lit goldfish, please get to the point quickly!"
    1. Re:Longhorn eaten by tiger by hunterx11 · · Score: 1

      Redmond, start your photocopiers! Now...put them into reverse!

      --
      English is easier said than done.
    2. Re:Longhorn eaten by tiger by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The funniest bit was all my Windows collegues telling me about how fantastic Longhorn was going to be and how it would allow MS users to overtake the Mac.....

      They don't need to; they already have.

    3. Re:Longhorn eaten by tiger by kidgenius · · Score: 1

      Don't forget that even Linux, Gnome, KDE, and other apps are adding some of these features in as we speak. Before Apple's Dashboard was unveiled, there were some Linux pages up on something called Dashboard and Beagle back in 2003. Not saying Apple stole from Linux, but both will have these features long before windows.

    4. Re:Longhorn eaten by tiger by Barlo_Mung_42 · · Score: 1

      "allow MS users to overtake the Mac.....

      Guess not!"

      Um. 93% > 4%

      I'm sure MS marketing would still like a bite of that sliver of pie but the majority of Windows users don't even give a fart, let alone a shit, about OSX.

    5. Re:Longhorn eaten by tiger by hc00jw · · Score: 1

      "allow MS users to overtake the Mac.....

      Guess not!"

      Um. 93% > 4%

      I'm sure MS marketing would still like a bite of that sliver of pie but the majority of Windows users don't even give a fart, let alone a shit, about OSX.

      I'm sure what the parent meant to say, was the fact that technologically, Mac OS X is more advanced than Windows. I don't think anybody would even dare claim that there are more Windows users than Mac users, because, like you state, it's not even close.

      I do think that the fact that Windows was ever going to overtake Mac OS X a bit bizarre, considering the release dates of 10.4 and Longhorn, and considering the state of the current versions now, but that's beside my current point...

  23. Incetive to STAY with Windows... by the_skywise · · Score: 1

    Because if you have to upgrade to Longhorn at an exhorbitant cost in both software and IT costs to handle the installation in your corp... Maybe you'd just prefer to "upgrade" to Linux...

    Now we're just back to getting "free" features...

  24. are they are scared of by rockclimber · · Score: 0, Redundant
    1. Re:are they are scared of by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      or even THIS

    2. Re:are they are scared of by AKAImBatman · · Score: 1

      What the hell?! That's SLASHDOT in the screenshot!

      *cough* *sputter* But you can't show that to end users!!!

    3. Re:are they are scared of by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't you mean Tiger?

  25. I know by Jozer99 · · Score: 1

    Microsoft will secretly turn Windows XP SP3 into subscription based software, which will conviently expire just when Longhorn comes out. The pricing at that point?

    Windows Longhorn - $200 Extension for Windows XP - $250

    1. Re:I know by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean like Apple and it's 'new' OSes?

      Tiger is one upgrade that I won't be buying. I can find all my stuff well enough as is, I have no need for widgets and I sure as hell need the money more than a new wallpaper set. Unless Apple gives it away free to students I'll pass until they produce something with enough new features to warrant paying for.

  26. Subscription Company by Scoria · · Score: 1

    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?

    Microsoft was once interested in becoming a subscription-based retailer. Perhaps you will be capable of upgrading Windows XP by using an extension to Windows Update, not unlike certain distributions of Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. Such a maneuver would enable them to combat the "pseudo-instant availability" of many alternative operating systems.

    --
    Do you like German cars?
  27. Windows 2000 by Synesthesiatic · · Score: 4, Insightful
    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?

    What was the incentive to upgrade from Windows 2000 to XP*. Let's see, we had:
    - Rearranged control panel
    - A new theme
    - Ummm...the search puppy?

    The die-hard fans will upgrade because it's the latest and greatest, everyone else will get it with their next computer, and the corporate world will wait 3 years and then take the plunge.

    This is still a blow to Microsoft, but not a major one. Maybe another baby step away from the OS monoculture.

    *I know there was more incentive to upgrade from Windows ME, but I'm sure many a 2000 user switched over as well.

    1. Re:Windows 2000 by mobets · · Score: 1

      It acutualy runs many games that 2000 couldn't run, or ran poorly. The big feature you missed was the emulating of older versions of windows.

      --

      It was me, I did it, I moved your cheese
    2. Re:Windows 2000 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Time synch! I think most people realized it was a consumer friendly Windows 2000. I didn't know a ton of (non geek) home users running Windows 2000.

    3. Re:Windows 2000 by x-kaos · · Score: 1

      and system restore!

    4. Re:Windows 2000 by AuMatar · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I have the opposite experience. Win2K runs many of my older games that WinXP choked on.

      --
      I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
    5. Re:Windows 2000 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      > but not a major one.

      It's a pretty major screw-up to their platform strategy, with regards to WinFS.

      WinFS was intended to be one of the 3 major "pillars" of Longhorn, along with Avalon and Indigo.

      That they have hosed it so badly that 1/3 of the major pillars of the operating system will not ship with the operating system is pretty screwed up.

      At least they finally figured out that having Avalon be Longhorn only was going to be a kiss of death as far as adoption by ISVs. It is really sad that it took them so long to figure that out, though.

    6. Re:Windows 2000 by kosmosik · · Score: 2, Informative

      In fact we got better memory management. New kernel, faster system, and some aditional services and management (think for system administrators) capabilities. Oh, and it looks the same and runs faster when you apply few *.reg files on it. XP is quite cool, and I write it using Fedora Core? Sick?

    7. Re:Windows 2000 by malfunct · · Score: 2, Informative

      You forgot integrated support for scanners, digital cameras and video cameras. Integrated support for cd burning (though not very good). A slightly less broken implementation of the network stack (though it really wasn't fixed until 2k3). Um, some other stuff too that I can't think of. Maybe none of it mattered to you but there were some decent and usable changes in xp. Oh, appcompat for one and better support of directX.

      --

      "You can now flame me, I am full of love,"

    8. Re:Windows 2000 by PPGMD · · Score: 3, Informative
      Driver roll back, remote desktop integration, et al.

      Windows XP took the stability of Windows 2000 and polished it for consumer use.

    9. Re:Windows 2000 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I upgraded because I found better hardware support, an overall more snappy experience, better multimedia support and many other little things. The new Start Menu is a good example, as is the simplified way of home networking.

      And no, I'm not an IT professional. I am - as a certain Mrs Leadbetter said - the Silent Majority.

    10. Re:Windows 2000 by Apathetic1 · · Score: 3, Informative
      • Terminal Services (aka Remote Desktop)
      • Better multiple display support

      I upgraded to XP primarily because I got sick of having to run Server to use Terminal Services. That said, I can get a Windows 2000 installation acting the way I want it to in just under ten minutes. To get Windows XP to work the way I want it to it takes me three hours minimum. Since my computer is limping along in need of a rebuild, I'm seriously considering blowing away XP and installing Linux or BSD.

      --

      My username does not make me Apathetic. It's irony, get it?

    11. Re:Windows 2000 by oogoliegoogolie · · Score: 1

      Better driver management (rollback), system restore, better power manangement, more administrative command line commands, more flexible administration console, faster boot, faster response & feel.

      I had some big issues with drivers causing blue screens on Win2k that I never get on XP.

      The search puppy is not one of the reasons I upgraded. Is it just me, or does search in windows gets worse and worse with each release? I just want a simple find utility like they had in 95. XP search you have to click a dozen times to open up all the options you want.

    12. Re:Windows 2000 by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Like what?

      Seriously?

      You're kidding us.

      I have a list of about 20 games that wouldn't run in Windows 2000 Pro but run fine in Windows XP... even without considering "Compatibility Mode" XP ran 5-10 more games than 2000 Pro did.

      If you're finding Windows 2000 more compatible with games than XP, you really need to look into your drivers and your DirectX install, because you have something wrong with your system.

    13. Re:Windows 2000 by Bachus9000 · · Score: 1

      2000 also includes compatibility mode although you had to enable it manually. At any rate, I've never managed to get it to make a difference in either version of Windows, but that's just me.

    14. Re:Windows 2000 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you mean took the stability of windows 2000 and broke it for better consistency with the rest of their windows line.

    15. Re:Windows 2000 by TrekCycling · · Score: 1

      Even including all the bugs and open ports, not to mention the draconian registration scheme. The funny thing is, that licensing scheme drove me from Windows to Linux full time like 4 years ago when I heard about it. Once I made the switch, though, I saw such huge advantages in terms of stability and security that I never want to go back. Ever. I run VMWare with XP when I want to do .Net stuff or run apps required for Windows, but if I ever get a virus I just delete the directory, copy back from my "clean" VMWare install and start over. Having Windows in a nice little box like that makes it infinitely more tolerable. Especially when I only use it once a month or so.

    16. Re:Windows 2000 by shfted! · · Score: 1

      The *only* compelling upgrade for me from 2000 to XP was the thumbnails view in Explorer. Other than that, it was a downgrade in some things, like the new wizard crap for control panels and searching and whatnot.

      --
      He who laughs last is stuck in a time dilation bubble.
    17. Re:Windows 2000 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nevermind the ablity to run games without major crashing. I realize win2k got this fixed eventually, (by SP4?) but at the point where XP debuted, I jumped on the upgrade bandwagon just to be able to play games that were released that year

    18. Re:Windows 2000 by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      Longhorn is what drove me to Linux... And yes, having XP in a VMWare box is really nice. Sure, it's a bit slow, but then again that also applies to any Windows installation that has been in constant use for six months.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    19. Re:Windows 2000 by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      You can tell XP to use 2000's search interface, but I prefer the Windows "port" of locate.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  28. I guess they're copying the old Detroit tactic... by Wizzy+Wig · · Score: 1

    When they can't improve the engine, just add more chrome and offer new colors.

  29. Incentive to upgrade? by stubear · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I've been led to believe by many here on /. that Microsoft forces me to upgrade. I don't have a choice, nor does Microsoft need to create incentives for people to upgrade, just brandish the gun and quite those who ask questions. Am I now to believe that that position, promoted by so many on /., including the editors, was wrong? Impossible.

  30. SECURE and RELIABLE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it allows for secure, reliable

    Secure and reliable? From Microsoft? *snicker*

    1. Re:SECURE and RELIABLE by SirTalon42 · · Score: 1

      Secure and reliable means of making a profit?

  31. Compatibility for Applications by DeionXxX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Microsoft is adding these features to Windows XP and Windows 2003 server in order to give developers a reason to use these technologies. So they can use Avalon and Indigo in their applications and still have people on older OS's be able to use their applications. Much like how .NET was backported to Windows 98. Developers wouldn't develop applications in .NET if they knew that only a small percentage of Windows users would be able to use it.

    It's a win-win IMHO, Windows developers get to use new features and develop application using more intuitive and powerful tools and Microsoft gets a larger application base for Longhorn.

    -- D3X

    1. Re:Compatibility for Applications by jez9999 · · Score: 1

      Microsoft gets a larger application base for Longhorn.

      I'd consider that a bad thing because the larger the userbase MS gets for Longhorn, the more power they have to prise people away from their old OSes and onto the new one with forced upgrades, incompatible software etc., resulting in more unnecessary spending on both software and hardware for the end user.

    2. Re:Compatibility for Applications by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And when does "new toys" override the need of having an application work?

      But I guess I am in the minority, I don't appreciate all the dancing logos on my screen.

    3. Re:Compatibility for Applications by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah.. The only insightful post in this thread.. thanks

  32. Here's a reason: by mZam · · Score: 1

    Besides Avalon and WinFS, the core OS is supposed to be all-new, so that we can get things like real-time multimedia playback (e.g. guaranteed minimum CPU time for a process). So we still need Longhorn even if we get Avalon and Indigo on XP!

  33. Speeding up application development and adaptation by Nemith · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If Avalon and Indigo is the new ways of displaying and programming applications. As a company why would I start porting my apps to it if it won't be used until 2006! If I have a pratical application now, then when 2006 comes out a lot of "native" apps .

  34. Re: What is the incentive to upgrade? by sokk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I suppose they do this so that developers can deploy their new apps (based on Avalon and Indigo) on the XP platform as well. It makes sense - and will give a more rapid transistion. (Instead of waiting for Longhorn to get the marketshare needed to have custom Avalon/Indigo-apps written for it).

    But what do I know? ;)

    (The color theme for it.slashdot.org needs a revision btw)

  35. No Reason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why update, good question since we're not talking application here, let's see: so I can get a 'graphical system' and have a 'network architecture'. Oh yeah I needs me some of those, so I can um, let's see, er ah, I have no idea...

  36. Re:Get the Longhorn dashboard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I normally don't go for these things but...Free ipods (click here to get yours) [freeipods.com]

    Another poor sap who's fallen for the pyramid scheme. I almost feel moved to pity him.

  37. Forced upgrades by Jason1729 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?

    Remember the product activation in XP? All MS has to do is end-of-life XP and you can't re-install it because MS won't authorize it. You'll be fine with your current system until you need to do a re-install, then you'll buy the next version even though it offers you nothing new and you know you'll have the same problem in another 3-4 years.

    1. Re:Forced upgrades by cyxxon · · Score: 1

      I guess this would lead to some bad sueing, maybe even class action type, though, since consumers bought this piece of software in several countries (meaning that in some countries, you get to own your copy, not license it) and cannot be forced to upgrade it just because MS is throwing a fit.

      Would make for one interesting case, IMO.

    2. Re:Forced upgrades by Adrian+Lopez · · Score: 1

      I doubt they will do so through product activation. Instead, they will refuse to release any patches for Windows products that have reached their "End Of Life". Does your copy of Windows XP contain a bug that allows hackers to run arbitrary code on your computer? Tough luck! Once XP reaches its end of life you won't be able to download a patch for it. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they removed existing patches from circulation once Windows XP reaches its End of Life.

      --
      "In prison you just have to shut your eyes and take it. Here you have to shut your eyes and give it."
  38. hmm by Keruo · · Score: 1

    so you'll need 2xitanium and 4gigs of ram to run XP after the upgrades..
    I'd comment something funny here
    unless I was so drunk

    -1 offtopic

    --
    There are no atheists when recovering from tape backup.
    1. Re:hmm by happyfrogcow · · Score: 1

      you probably already have that just to run Doom3, so quitcherbitchin!

  39. Search Puppy? by thelocalguru · · Score: 1

    I used the search feature today on XP looking for a word that was riddled in a whack of files ... and XP couldn't find them. I want a better dog!

    1. Re:Search Puppy? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Use findstr /l "search_string" \* | more. Much faster than the puppy.

  40. Why upgrade? Oh, that's easy... by Steve+Ballmer's+Fat · · Score: 1

    ...because then you'll have all the wonderful benefits of Palladium to go with all the power and security already inherent in XP. ;)

  41. If Longhorn has the feature to... by hsoft · · Score: 1

    If Longhorn has the feature to remove the puke yellow color from the IT section, I'll sure buy it!

    Cmon /. change that!

    --
    perception is reality
    1. Re:If Longhorn has the feature to... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yellow? adjust your monitor, it's khaki and beige.

    2. Re:If Longhorn has the feature to... by hsoft · · Score: 1

      Hence "puke"

      --
      perception is reality
  42. what is the incentive to upgrade? by citizen6350 · · Score: 1

    Native 64-bit support? XAML?

    --
    "Sorry Im not more user-friendly."
    1. Re:what is the incentive to upgrade? by EddWo · · Score: 1

      Native 64 bit support?
      No need to wait for longhorn for that

      XAML? Or that

      --
      "Taligent is still pure vapor. Maybe they'll be the last who jumps up on Openstep... "
    2. Re:what is the incentive to upgrade? by argent · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What do you need 64-bit support for?

      What do you need XAML for?

      What do you need Avalon for?

      Look, I've gone over to a Mac. Mac OS X has some of the nifty features that Microsoft's talking about. Quartz Extreme is really cool and I'm sure Avalon will be just peachy. But these things are not why I use my Mac... in fact my Mac just barely runs QE using a third-party hack, and I've got it turned off right now. It's a G4-upgraded G3 with no AGP and second-generation PCI. It doesn't run Panther (I tried) and it won't run Tiger. But I still consider it an upgrade over my 1.7 GHz P4 even though it's 1/4 the clock speed and has 1/4 the bus bandwidth and 3/4 the RAM and nowhere near enough expansion slots.

      So.. it's not the new features. It's the fact that it's a hell of a lot closer to the "it just works" ideal. It really does... just work. I don't have to deal with all the hassles of Windows, I can just use it. Yeh, Apple is heading into the same feature mess, and maybe it's a good thing that I can't upgrade to Tiger. But if I could have upgraded to something as (relatively) bug free on that P4, even if it came out of Redmond, I'd have done it. Even if it had fewer "features" than XP.

      THAT would be an incentive to upgrade. New APIs that I only need because other people have upgraded so I have to upgrade to be compatible? I'd probably do it, eventually, but I wouldn't like it.

    3. Re:what is the incentive to upgrade? by fafalone · · Score: 1

      Well having a 64-bit CPU (I have an Athlon64 3000+) is a pretty good reason to want 64-bit support.....

      But then again, there's already a 64-bit version of Windows XP, and it's free (gasp!) until the commercial release. I downloaded it straight from MS earlier today.
      I'm not sure if it's "native" support or not, but in any case, the future is 64-bit.

    4. Re:what is the incentive to upgrade? by SilentChris · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "It really does... just work."

      I recently bought a Mac and I agree that most things "just work"... provided you stick with Apple-recommended hardware. iPod "just works". My Sony camera, despite having a basic firewire port that's properly handled in both Windows and Linux, doesn't. When you don't mind a monoculture of hardware, Macs are great.

      That's one of the nice things about Windows, and one of its biggest drawbacks: you can pop just about any hardware in and it'll recognize it, configure it. I've been continually surprised digging up old ethernet cards, popping them into 2003 servers, and having them work as soon as the system starts up. Only problem is sometimes there's too much variance, and the system gets flaky trying to match 1980s hardware with 200x drivers.

    5. Re:what is the incentive to upgrade? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      It's a G4-upgraded G3 with no AGP and second-generation PCI. It doesn't run Panther (I tried) and it won't run Tiger. But I still consider it an upgrade over my 1.7 GHz P4 even though it's 1/4 the clock speed and has 1/4 the bus bandwidth and 3/4 the RAM and nowhere near enough expansion slots.
      Yeah man, I recently upgraded to a PDP-10... it's archaic hardware with the processing power of a calculator, but I still consider it an upgrade. ;P
    6. Re:what is the incentive to upgrade? by Echnin · · Score: 1

      Hm, I haven't had problems with three digital cameras (Minolta, Olympus, Casio), three mice (one no-name, one MS, one Logitech), a no-name flash MP3 player, and a no-name cheap gamepad. Except for the MS mouse and the Casio camera, all these were bought before getting a Mac, but they all work with no problems on my iBook. One of the mice, the gamepad, and the MP3 player had nothing on the boxes about Mac support, but they worked. Just saying, my experience is different. Maybe Firewire drivers aren't as standardized as USB drivers?

      --
      Lalala
    7. Re: What is the incentive to upgrade? by Finuvir · · Score: 1

      (The color theme for it.slashdot.org needs a revision btw)

      Bookmark this bit of javascript:

      javascript:document.location.href = document.location.href.replace("it.slashdot", "slashdot");

      Then just hit that bookmark on any it.slashdot.org article. Or you can just manually remove the "it." from the URL.

      --
      Why is anything anything?
    8. Re:what is the incentive to upgrade? by BandwidthHog · · Score: 1

      I'm just curious what G3(4) you've got that won't run 10.3. I was able to get it installed on a 7500/100 with a 500mhz PowerLogix G3. Is it a Beige G3? Has Mr. Rempel still not gotten that dealt with?

      --

      Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
    9. Re:what is the incentive to upgrade? by argent · · Score: 1

      I've tried a 7500 with a Sonnet Crescendo G3/400/1M and an Apple Radeon.

      I've tried an 8500 with a Powerlogix G3/275 and a flashed Radeon.

      I've tried a vanilla beige G3/266 with both the internal video and an Apple Radeon.

      I've tried a beige G3 with the OWC G4/533 at 466 and both an Apple Radeon and the same flashed Radeon that I was using in the 8500.

      All of these are running 10.2.8 and except for one took 10.2.8 fine. The 8500 I was setting up for a friend of my daughter's took some coaxing, I had to run it without cache during the install.

  43. Ya'd think by prostoalex · · Score: 2

    When Windows 98 came out, PC magazine or some other Ziff Davis publication ran a pretty good guide Assemble Win98 for free where they basically gave pointers to different place on Microsoft Web site, where one could download the enhancement incorporated into 98. Naturally the core files were not there, but new version of IE, ActiveDesktop and other technologies were all available through a separate download. Of course, no such thing as automatic WindowsUpdate back then, so few customers knew or cared to snith around microsoft.com/downloads.

    The result? Win98 became the best-selling OS ever, as most of the people pretty much thought paying $80-90 for an OS that was going to last them 3 years or so would be no big deal.

    So new MediumHorn with proper marketing and few pizzazz added will be just as welcome as Win98.

    1. Re:Ya'd think by Txiasaeia · · Score: 1
      I don't get it... were these users upgrading Win 95 or rolling their own?

      Speed up, cowboy!

      --
      Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
    2. Re:Ya'd think by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did that upgrade the system dlls with new API functions in windows 98 though?

      Windows 98 brought things like native UTF8 support, jpegs and pngs being loaded without having to link against libpng and libjpg, and the new TransparentBlt, AlphaBlend, and GradientFill functions (among plenty others).

      Still no native unicode support, I'm glad they finally got rid of the 9x series and forced NT down consumer's throats.

  44. Yeah.. by malakai · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...because MS and Adobe would work together just to screw you over.

    Chances are the Adobe app is making use of features _new_ to XP. So, what you are essentially bitching about is that these new features were not back ported to whatever previous version of MS OS you used.

    And of course, if MS did back port these new features, you'd be bitching how MS is always adding new fangled features to released version of OS that do nothing but add bugs, insecurity, and instability.

    Just admit there is nothing MS could ever do to appease you, and quit fucking using their software. That's why god gave you Linux.

    1. Re:Yeah.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Chances are the Adobe app is making use of features _new_ to XP.


      Such as...?

    2. Re:Yeah.. by tirnacopu · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Actually, inside intel from Linux HQ state that Santa gave it to you.

    3. Re:Yeah.. by ChairmanMeow · · Score: 1

      Does that make Linus Torvalds divine?

      So, what would it take to make Linus Torvalds declared as a saint?

      --
    4. Re:Yeah.. by bdeclerc · · Score: 1

      Strictly speaking : two miracles, verified by the Catholic Church as authentic...

    5. Re:Yeah.. by Finuvir · · Score: 1

      I thought it was three? Val Kilmer had to do three.

      --
      Why is anything anything?
  45. Wasting resources by storem · · Score: 1

    What else to waste your way-to-expensive processor and buckloads of RAM onto? Geeks will always upgrade (M$ geeks anyway. Yes they exist, I heard.)

  46. Instead of shiping WinFS.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Microsoft will be shipping LoseFS.

  47. Smart Move by RAMMS+EIN · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is a smart move. First they schedule the release way ahead in the future, so the competition thinks they have plenty of time. Then, they release the new futures early, so that they are first to market. By the time Longwait is released, there will be plenty of application support already. In the meantime, the hype their technologies sky high so people will forget about looking for alternatives, let alone implement them. Wow, respect.

    --
    Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
    1. Re:Smart Move by daveinthesky · · Score: 1

      Nice thinking,

      but it's a smart move for a more fundamental reason...

      FREE BETA TESTERS FOR MS!

    2. Re:Smart Move by RAMMS+EIN · · Score: 1

      ``FREE BETA TESTERS FOR MS!''

      Nah, this stuff is alpha.

      When Longhorn is realeased, they will have PAYING BETA TESTERS!

      --
      Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
    3. Re:Smart Move by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      so the competition thinks they have plenty of time

      I sure missed that one...

  48. no incentive!! by drmancini · · Score: 1

    this is not about an incentive or a question of upgrading or not upgrading ... M$ is doing this because their bloated Longhorn will be out much later then anticipated ... And they are beginning to slowly feel their user's possible loss of "faithfulness" ... this is all just a marketing game to make the wait for Longhorn seem like a short while. But us /.ers know that XP was released in 2001 and Longhorn won't be out before the end of 2006.
    Did any other "upgrade" (except for Duke Nukem Forever of course) take so long to develop?
    I think this is the right time for GNU/Linux to strike hard at the Ms desktop user base ...

    --

    Never underestimate the power of idiots in large groups
  49. who really upgrades anyways, pre-installs is their by Locutus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    who really upgrades anyways, pre-installs is their bread and butter with regards to keeping their OS monopoly rolling. What is interesting is that they expect existing computers, running their current OS's, will be able to run the updates from their next OS. THIS IS NEW for the most part. Usually, they shoved so much kludge into the next OS that only current hardware would/could run the OS.

    So, if they can't force hardware upgrades then they will be slowing down sales of their future OS. This isn't typical for Microsoft and I don't expect this to happen. Or atleast they most likely won't be upgrading XP or 2003 to the 2007 version. Just small bits and pieces.

    gawd, remember when they wouldn't upgrade USB support into Win95? OEMs were probably hammered into only pre-loading Win98 with that incredible USB support.

    Trust me, Microsoft will not do anything at the expense of OS uptake( not upgrade ). XP won't get much useful stuff. that'll only be in 2007.
    IMHO

    LoB

    --
    "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
  50. The Joy of Updating isn't the Update Itself... by syntap · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... but the joy of hacking the latest Microsoft license registration procedure.

    My best sig is this one.

  51. Incentive by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1
    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?


    Here is the problem with going with M$. I have no doubts that there will be serious compatability issues with older versions of Windows Servers as these new technologies come down the line. The incentive is that in order to make use of the functionality of the new systems, one must upgrade the backend servers.

    Do most people really need all the features of XP (other than increased stability)? What about the next version? What new and exciting features can we not live without?

    The incentives to upgrade will be not task oriented features, but rather to fix such things as "Security" and such (breaking all sorts of M$'s own conventions in the process) making it necissary at some point.
    --
    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  52. So... by Lisandro · · Score: 1

    Longhorn has been pushed back THAT far, eh?

  53. Slashdot Article from the Future... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Windows Longhorn To Get Mac OS X 10.4 Technologies"

    1. Re:Slashdot Article from the Future... by keeleysam · · Score: 0

      Waht a suprise future boy!

      --
      Nothing for you to see here, Please move along.
  54. I can't live without my linux box! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And I want a fancy OpenGL accelerated GUI!

    Ohhh... better, a fancy OpenGL accelerated Xserver.

    I think I'll stick waiting E DR17 with evoak libs.

    ps: Long live to open hardware! Burn in hell Apple!

  55. Am I the only sane one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Microsoft is obviously making buggy security flawed software to force you to buy their software and DEPEND on their updates. They will eventually charge for updates to make even more money. Not to mention they are taking the ownership away form the user, if I choose to upgrade my computer I have to approve it with Microsoft, that's BS I bought the software and should be allowed to do to my computer as I like. I have vowed that XP is the last MS OS I buy. Next upgrade for me will be to Linux full time baby (currently I run both, only for video games might I add)! Why do people put up with this BS when there is a better OS available for free? I don't get it at all.

  56. Incentive: by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 5, Funny

    Longhorn will automatically render the Slashdot IT page in a better colour. It might even get people to switch from Linux to Windows.

    --

    ---
    ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
    1. Re:Incentive: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the colors are affecting your brain.

  57. Re:If most of the updates will be available for cu by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

    You think Longhorn will work? You really should see a psychiatrist about those delusions...

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  58. This won't be provided free... by Eggplant62 · · Score: 1, Insightful
    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?"


    These updates will be handed out a' la Windows 98 SE style. You'll have to buy an upgrade edition to apply to your XP for the low, LOW! price of $379.85. It will inevitably gork up your registry, good portions of the file system will be damaged by the install process, you'll suffer irrepairable data loss, and the disclaimer in the EULA will have even more ridiculous terms than the fact that you can't get more than $5 or the price of the software if you decide to sue, whichever is least.

    *THEN*, after about a year or 18 months of massive amounts of bugfix patches, service packs and other silly nonsense, they will release Shoehorn, the bastard stepchild of Windows XP SE and Longhorn's ugly second cousin OS that's only been seen on a production server somwhere in the MS complex in Redmond. That will cost you your first child, rights to half the real property you own, and $1,999.

    This, my friends, is *INNOVATION*!! Yes sir, sign me *RIGHT UP*!
    1. Re:This won't be provided free... by gid · · Score: 1

      Or smart users will get the oem version of xp pro from newegg for $141, or $90 for the home version. Don't forget to add a floppy power cable to your cart.

  59. Apple and Core Data by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Cupertino should take notice. Tiger-only apps are going to be a bitch to sell to people with a $129 add-on.

  60. Windows Graphic by xeon4life · · Score: 5, Interesting

    While I realize that the majority of the /. crowd is from the UNIX world, I also realize that it would be more professional to replace the broken window graphic with something more appropriate.

    The technologies coming out of Microsoft might not be as innovative as they claim it to be, but it's certainly groundbreaking for a company with such magnitude as Microsoft to consent to the superiority of researched technologies.

    Longhorn is going to include some exciting new technologies such as Avalon, WinFS, Indigo, and most importantly their new Monad (you really must research this, as it could do for Longhorn what BASIC did for Microsoft's first operating systems). While these are just codenames for abstract ideas (and possibly just buzzwords) it will certainly be exciting to see some of these things deployed.

    This is the longest Microsoft has ever waited to release an OS. Windows 95 to Windows 98 took only 3 years, as the names describe. Windows Longhorn looks as if it will take up to 7 years. What can be done in seven years' time with hundreds of emplyees? Amazing stuff.

    Linux has some serious issues. I'm not going to argue how many compared to Windows, because that argument would be futile. Instead I will offer my "credibility" as an unbiased commentator:
    I'm 17 and have been using Linux since 2001 after getting my first computer sometime in '98. It didn't take long for me to fall in love with it. Since then, I've been using Debian GNU/Linux for the past few years, and enjoy it's breadth of developer friendly software. I've used FreeBSD, and plan to play around with BSD's like OpenBSD, DragonFlyBSD, and even get a Mac G5. I also plan to make my own Linux from Scratch, an embedded uClinux distro with BusyBox, and other fun things like that; eventually working my way up to hacking on the Linux kernel. I would also enjoy testing out Hurd, as well.

    However, if what's coming out of Microsoft is as developer friendly as advertised to be (what really IS these days anyways, but that's not for me to predict) then Linux might have a problem. If people are really going to be able to hack up some XML applicaton like what's hyped, there might be some serious problems, no matter how many Mono's or GNU DotNETs there are.

    Until the community stops getting cocky and starts getting worried, nothing will ever go anywhere. Being afraid is a good thing(tm), because it gets people working harder.

    So, again, I emplore somebody to please change the graphic to more accurately represent what we have to fear this new century.

    -Devin Torres

    --
    Real programmers can write assembly code in any language. -- Larry Wall
    1. Re:Windows Graphic by norkakn · · Score: 1

      We use the broken window because no matter how cool all that is, the overall product will be a broken piece of shit that will cause pain to many of us.

    2. Re:Windows Graphic by focitrixilous+P · · Score: 2, Insightful
      While I realize that the majority of the /. crowd is from the UNIX world, I also realize that it would be more professional to replace the broken window graphic with something more appropriate.

      ...

      Longhorn is going to include some exciting new technologies such as Avalon, WinFS, Indigo, and most importantly their new Monad (you really must research this, as it could do for Longhorn what BASIC did for Microsoft's first operating systems). While these are just codenames for abstract ideas (and possibly just buzzwords) it will certainly be exciting to see some of these things deployed.

      And when this wonderful new OS is released, free of bugs, wonderful, and secure, only then will icon change debate be real.

      Besides, they just anounced the cut of many features today, what's to stop your precious Avalon and Inigo being left on the cutting room floor before the release. I've heard the same hype "This version is secure, honest" several times now, and I don't believe now more than for ME or 2000 or XP. Until a released version isn't broken, I say we keep the shattered panes of glass.

      --
      SAILING MISHAP
    3. Re:Windows Graphic by MavEtJu · · Score: 1

      Longhorn is going to include some exciting new technologies such as Avalon, WinFS, Indigo, and most importantly their new Monad (you really must research this, as it could do for Longhorn what BASIC did for Microsoft's first operating systems). While these are just codenames for abstract ideas (and possibly just buzzwords) it will certainly be exciting to see some of these things deployed.

      It would be more informational if you actually explained what the ideas behind these buzzwords were.

      --
      bash$ :(){ :|:&};:
    4. Re:Windows Graphic by kidgenius · · Score: 1

      It's not a broken window. It's a piece of stained glass. Look closer.

    5. Re:Windows Graphic by gordgekko · · Score: 3, Insightful

      > While I realize that the majority of the /. crowd is from the UNIX world Oh please. A majority of the /. crowd are poseurs. A majority run a variant of Windows.

      --
      You want to know who isn't running Firefox 2.x? They spell it "definately" and "rediculous".
    6. Re:Windows Graphic by DarkOx · · Score: 1

      Devin,

      While we greatly appreciate the whoreing you have done on our behalf at slashdot, we cannont offer you a job at this time. You must fist obtain your MCSE before you can be considerd for one of our code monkey positions. If you would like to work helpdesk please apply to that department. Thanks very much sincerly yours Pointy Haried Boss numner 1234.

      The above is about how the letter is going to read. It was a nice try though Devin.

      --
      Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
    7. Re:Windows Graphic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Longhorn is going to include some exciting new technologies such as Avalon, WinFS, Indigo, and most importantly their new Monad (you really must research this, as it could do for Longhorn what BASIC did for Microsoft's first operating systems). While these are just codenames for abstract ideas (and possibly just buzzwords) it will certainly be exciting to see some of these things deployed.

      Only a Microsoft shill would get so caught up in the Longhorn hype to claim that a selling point of Longhorn is that it will include abstract ideas and buzzwords.

    8. Re:Windows Graphic by mav[LAG] · · Score: 1, Insightful

      What can be done in seven years' time with hundreds of emplyees? Amazing stuff.

      Not nearly as amazing as what can be done by several hundred thousand.

      If people are really going to be able to hack up some XML applicaton like what's hyped, there might be some serious problems, no matter how many Mono's or GNU DotNETs there are.

      Some feel that Microsoft has actually lost the war for the Windows API through too much chopping and changing over the past three or four years. It's all fire and maneouvre - COM, DCOM, DNA, .NET 1.0, .NET something else and now Longhorn which will be another - considerable - departure.
      So now let's say I'm a Windows development shop. What do I do? Invest up to seven years wasted time only to see it break and have to relearn and reinvest everything? Or do I stick to Web technologies and maybe other platforms with more stability (API-wise - I don't mean ones which fall over less although that is a consideration)?

      Until the community stops getting cocky and starts getting worried, nothing will ever go anywhere.

      I haven't seen much change in the level of vitriol aimed at Microsoft over the past ten years of being a Linux user. Hackers are cocky and impatient and arrogant - it often goes with writing good code. Despite all this "unprofessional behaviour", Linux has progressed enormously.

      Being afraid is a good thing(tm), because it gets people working harder.

      Here's the One Overarching Single Great Grand Unified Truth about Linux's progress. If you take anything away from this lecture^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hpost let it be this:

      The vast majority of people working to improve Linux do not care about what Microsoft is up to, least of all what development tools they are hyping. Why should they be?

      So, again, I emplore somebody to please change the graphic to more accurately represent what we have to fear this new century.

      Perhaps the hourglass symbol? :)

      --
      --- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
  61. Incentive to upgrade? by futurekill · · Score: 1

    I didn't know there was any incentive to do anything in the Windoh's world..

    --
    The gates in my computer are AND, OR and NOT; they are not Bill.
  62. Plenty of reasons to buy longhorn....... by imemyself · · Score: 1

    Well of course there will be many reasons to upgrade. The new version of Microsoft Office, RRG Edition(Really Really Good), that offers a two-fold increase in the time it takes to start the apps and 25% more crashes, will only be available for Longhorn. And to "insure security"(maybe the security of Billy's market share?) the Longhorn Desktop OS will be the only desktop OS that will be allowed to work with the Longhorn Server windows-domains. But wait! For a limited time only, you'll get a a FREE Billy Gates bobble head toy when you order Windows Longhorn. :P

    --
    Every time you post an article on Slashdot, I kill a server. Think of the servers!
  63. This is a good thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    About Avalon in particular.

    One of the big reasons, IMO, that .NET hasn't been as popular as Java is for developing GUI apps in a next-gen language is quite simply that Windows.Forms is an aborted fetus. The basic way the interface works is just fine, and many things are much easier to do in Windows.Forms than they are in SWING - but SWING's default set of controls and widgets is MUCH more flexible than the default Windows.Forms controls.

    As an example, creating a syntax-highlighting edit box in SWING is fairly straightforward. In theory, you should be able to do the same using the color and font functions of a RichTextBox control in Windows.Forms, but the reality is that if you try to do this, you will get horrible flickering because the necessary events and controls are not exposed due to the way Windows.Forms controls are just rudimentary wrappers to their win32 counterparts. Therefore you end up having to make your own edit control completely from scratch, or use a terrible port such as Scintilla.NET.

    Avalon should fix all this. I've always felt that the reason MS hasn't made fixing Windows.Forms a big priority is because it was banking on Avalon as its replacement. But then, developers would be reluctant to use Avalon due to it being Longhorn only, and Longhorn's release date is still a ways off, and due to Longhorn's high system requirements - making an app Longhorn only simply isn't a good bet if it isn't necessary.

    By making Avalon available to XP users, MS alleviates much of that concern. The only problem is that it looks like they still aren't releasing Avalon for XP until Longhorn ships - a ways off still. In the meantime, development of serious applications in .NET will continue to grow at a much slower rate than it should.

  64. Wasted Karma... (your sig) by ImaLamer · · Score: 1, Informative

    If con is the opposite of pro, is congress the opposite of progress?

    On a few web pages I'm credited with the creation of that line (or close to it).

    I however stole it in 1995...

    Just some trivia. ("Informative" right?)

  65. They say they wouldn't do that. by enosys · · Score: 4, Informative
    M$ says they wouldn't do that in this activation FAQ

    Will Microsoft use activation to force me to upgrade? In other words, will Microsoft ever stop giving out activation codes for any of the products that require activation?

    No, Microsoft will not use activation as a tool to force people to upgrade. Activation is merely an anti-piracy tool, nothing else.

    Microsoft will also support the activation of Windows XP throughout its life and will likely provide an update that turns activation off at the end of the product's lifecycle so users would no longer be required to activate the product.

    1. Re:They say they wouldn't do that. by Jason1729 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Microsoft will also support the activation of Windows XP throughout its life and will likely provide an update that turns activation off at the end of the product's lifecycle so users would no longer be required to activate the product.

      So they guarantee that at the end of the product lifecycle (which is completely up to them to determine) they will stip providing the activation service. They also say they will "likely" turn off activation, that's legal-speak for never in a million years. Especially since they know if they don't turn it off, they will be forcing everyone to upgrade. Since when has MS ever let the right thing stand of the way of increased immediate profit?

    2. Re:They say they wouldn't do that. by man_ls · · Score: 1

      My reading of that is that once they EOL the product, the final patch for it will be to disable requiring it to be activated.

      Thus, once it's so old it's not making money any more, they're not going to stop people from pirating it and activating it.

    3. Re:They say they wouldn't do that. by Doctor_Jest · · Score: 1

      They also said they weren't a monopoly either. Great track record that....

      (yeah mod it as a troll.... big deal....)

      --
      It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
    4. Re:They say they wouldn't do that. by casuist99 · · Score: 1

      What I find most interesting is that there is quite likely a way to turn off the activation in XP without using a corporate edition (no, I would never do that, I just know SOME people might)...

      I wonder what the result would be if someone could simply turn off product activation via MS's native method...

    5. Re:They say they wouldn't do that. by flupps · · Score: 1

      A FaQ is in no way a legal contract, it's more of a sales pitch.

      If a salesguy says something to you, but you don't have it in writing and signed there's nothing you can do when you come claiming something.

      They'll just said "You should have read the contract" which in this case I guess would be the EULA?

  66. Upgrade the Nintendo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We should all be thankful. There was a time when the only joystick was the Advantage. Now that we have a choice, DON'T KNOCK IT!!!

    But I still keep my Nintendo disconnected from the network, and I urge everyone else to do the same. Or don't; it doesn't affect my paygrade if you get haxx0r3d. There's no good reason your Nintendo needs to be hooked up to the net; that's like giving your barber your social security number and date of birth along with a color photocopy of your driver's license, just so they can customize your haircut...

  67. Re:Article Text by nial-in-a-box · · Score: 0

    Just an FYI, Office is Microsoft's flagship product, NOT Windows. Office costs significantly more. Windows is simply a vehicle to deliver other software.

    --
    I am feeling fat and sassy
  68. I'll tell you! by ImaLamer · · Score: 1
    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?


    I know this line has been beat to death, but I'll tell you the incentive...

    Being the coolest guy on the block running a cracked copy you got from Gnutella or some other P2P network. You are cool if you install it 3 days before release in my 'hood.

  69. Rhetorical Question, Right? by john_smith_45678 · · Score: 1

    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?

    Uh, for the rest of the updates?

  70. Seems like a no-brainer. by tgd · · Score: 1

    If you have applications you're writing to new frameworks, those frameworks have to be available before you can sell those applications.

    They're not going to hold back 80% of the company for 20% of it.

  71. "Scaling back WinFS" by rd_syringe · · Score: 5, Informative

    They're not scaling back WinFS. There's no where in the article it even states this. All it says is that it will be available in beta form upon the client release.

    For some reason, Slashdot has trouble reporting anything accurately on WinfS. Anyone remember the previous case where Microsoft decided not to include some of the more esoteric features (like some networking functions). Slashdot, of course, picked it up and reported it as "WinFS cancelled," and other tech news sites picked it up. For months, people on Slashdot continued to refer to WinFS as cancelled, when they were blissfully ignorant to the fact it wasn't. Sigh. All it takes is a little basic research first.

    1. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by R2.0 · · Score: 4, Funny

      "All it takes is a little basic research first."

      You're new here, aren't you?

      --
      "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
    2. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by SilentChris · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I called it "scaling back" in comparison to what it once was: a SQL-like metadatabase for every file accessible on a computer. It was actually a very cool idea, and I'm not sure why MS abandoned the networking features (where I work, anything that should be catalogued is on remote servers, not on desktops).

      Then there was some confusion, because "WinFS" sounded like a new file system. Then it was called a service on top of NTFS, which wasn't as dramatic. Now it's unclear what it'll end up being.

      The 3 cornerstones of Longhorn, if I remember correctly from an early webcast, was:

      * More robust file system
      * A better windowing system
      * Better security and connectivity

      One is going to be "beta" and two are going to be released for current OSes. MS *has* scaled their plans back.

    3. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by metkat · · Score: 1
      They're not scaling back WinFS. There's no where in the article it even states this. All it says is that it will be available in beta form upon the client release.
      From the article: "The company is pushing some key improvements out of Longhorn, including the WinFS file system, for its release in 2006. The trade-offs are an effort to deliver other desired features on time. "
    4. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They're not scaling back WinFS.

      The BBC says they are dropping it altogether. Funny, all the news stories you get when you put microsoft winfs into Google News all say it. All it takes is a little research...

    5. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by KingPunk · · Score: 2, Interesting

      wow. who would've thought that a year ago, the already infamous "Longhorn" would be just yet another junkyard os. pesh. MS began saying that Longhorn wasn't driven by release date, but by technology advancement.. even if it meant it coming out in 2010. what happened to this? lol. it seems as though they've slowly scaled back every god damn thing that they could.. until now its just another _enhancement_ to windows xp. im impressed, honestly, impressed. /end rant in reality, i care not. for my soul hath been liberated. whurd up.

    6. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Richard_at_work · · Score: 1

      If two out of three are going to be released for current OSes, then I dont think MS has scaled back at all, infact I think they have excelled themselves in getting the features into updates for a current OS rather than relying the public to update. Saying they have scaled back plans is basically crap, based on that list you give.

    7. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by new_here_arent_you · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, *I* am new_here_arent_you.

    8. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by jrockway · · Score: 1

      Good work. Funny funny, you made that account just so you could reply and get karma and then troll for anti-slash.org. Great work. You are a true genius.

      --
      My other car is first.
    9. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      eh...they are most likely releasing what should have been an early beta to the existing windows versions, hoping the most disasterous bugs will be weeded out before longhorn launches, to prevent it from getting labeled as a big failure from the start.

    10. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      file system
      windowing system
      security and connectivity

      Huh, what is this, 1983? And it's gonna take how many more years? And it's gonna do exactly what for me, the end user?

      All MS is doing is going back over old ground doing the same old things all over again. Where the heck's the innovation Mr Bill was concerned about losing his freedom in which to engage?

    11. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't be taken in by this idiot--he has accounts under the names bonch and Overly Critical Guy. He has a history of astroturfing for Microsoft, bashing anything Open Source, using lies and half-truths to get modded up, karma whoring, and the usual trolling (under his bonch account, he got a troll posted to the front page of Slashdot).

      All you have to do to check the veracity of this is to look at the posting history of his two old personnae (linked above) and his current one to figure it out.

      Please do not mod this jerk up--every time you do the Slashdot S/N ratio goes down while bonch/Overly Critical Guy/rd_syringe just laughs at you.

      This has been a public service announcement

    12. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by new_here_arent_you · · Score: 1

      hahahah uh... what the hell?

      take off your tinfoil hat, fella.

      until you mentioned it, i didn't even know wtf anti-slash.org was.

      likewise with you, you must be posting against a funny post so you can gain karma and troll for anti-riaa.org.net (?)

    13. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by DroopyStonx · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I got a nice laugh from it *shrug*

      No need to be negative against someone with some wacky accusations just because someone made a mindless joke.

      Lighten up.

      --
      We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
    14. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Bullet-Dodger · · Score: 3, Insightful

      (pssst... Funny doesn't help your karma (really, check the FAQ))

    15. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, your sig is so misleading I just have to comment. Reading the article, those are the numbers for party members registered as voters in both Florida and New York; NOT numbers for how many of these actually vote twice. It also says that less than 1,700 of those 46,000 requested absentee ballots. Do the rest drive across several states to vote in both elections? Of course it's illegal, and of course it's a problem, but your summary is misleading and partisan, exaggerating the problem,.

    16. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    17. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Jugalator · · Score: 2, Informative

      Then there was some confusion, because "WinFS" sounded like a new file system. Then it was called a service on top of NTFS, which wasn't as dramatic. Now it's unclear what it'll end up being.

      It always was a service running on top of NTFS, that utilized NTFS streams (that are already supported in Windows 2000 and Windows XP). Well, at least it was even back in the first alphas seen. The latest pre-beta builds of Longhorn has shown that WinFS is still implemented as a service.

      WinFS isn't (and, again, never was) "Windows File System", it's Windows Future Storage. It's called like this since to the user the files will look like they're stored in a vastly different way. But not really to NTFS. "Storages" is a more abstract way for MS to represent actual file locations that are unbound to the devices and directories they're stored on. It's a term they're using in WinFS.

      One is going to be "beta" and two are going to be released for current OSes. MS *has* scaled their plans back.

      No, beta is what you call prerelease quality implementations. While some might say "this is what MS always do", reducing the scope of WinFS doesn't turn it into beta quality. It just turns it into a file system extension that will do a bit less. It's two completely different things. Beta is a stage in software development, not in a feature set. If they in the future expands the WinFS feature set, it'll just be a new version of WinFS, just like how they did with NTFS in 2000 and XP.

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
    18. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by golgotha007 · · Score: 4, Informative

      They're not scaling back WinFS. There's no where in the article it even states this. All it says is that it will be available in beta form upon the client release.


      this just in from CNN:
      "To get Longhorn shipped on time, however, Microsoft said it had sacrificed a key component of the system that was to be shipped concurrently, the underlying file system for the software, called WinFS.

      The new file system, based on database software architecture aimed at making it easier for users to find information stored on hard drives, will be shipped later, with a test, or beta version, of WinFS shipping along with Longhorn in 2006."


      so, how about an apology to everyone here at Slashdot for your unkind words and high UID.

      punk

    19. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Jugalator · · Score: 1

      All MS is doing is going back over old ground doing the same old things all over again. Where the heck's the innovation Mr Bill was concerned about losing his freedom in which to engage?

      Last time I checked, updates to ReiserFS and replicas of WinFS, new/improved windowing systems (KDE 3.4, Gnome 2.6) and improved security were all either in planning or under development for e.g. Linux distros. But I suppose you'd whine in a thread about Linux too, or?

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
    20. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      well. that it is what ms always does.

      announce a bunch of revolutionary technologies that will change the world and then release something that is just a little evolutionary step of their last product(and in end being totally different from say, "totally object oriented os, everything is in db's and cool shit flies around").

      they've used the tactic before and can't see why they wouldn't be using it now - they've announced so much stuff for longhorn that a) doesn't really matter, b) doesn't really seem like it's going to happen and c) average user wouldn't even notice it that i can't really see them pulling through with all of them. that's also the reason why they announced them so early(in respect to the estimated release data), so they can just drop these features that average user wouldn't even be able to appreciate directly(and thus buy it because of them).

      promise the sky and deliver ash - it works if you just need some time to screw the competition who has a next generation product *now*(worked for ms before, worked for sony, worked for lots of others.. it's hard to compete on quality level against something that doesn't even exist, and no, the longhorn builds floating around don't really count).

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    21. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Metteyya · · Score: 1

      Well, now, after Reiser4 has been released and announced "stable", M$ can start working on "their" WinFS and porti...*cough* scaling it to WinXP.

    22. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And how do you know that? Is this a new type of troll?

    23. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by MinutiaeMan · · Score: 1

      Thanks for clarifying the meaning of the name "WinFS" -- especially because many news media sources are getting the purpose of WinFS wrong! For example, this Reuters article says that WinFS is a whole new file system. Go figure.

      Mod parent up!

    24. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Ames · · Score: 1

      You had better tell Microsoft's Developer Network. Seems they don't know.

    25. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Finuvir · · Score: 1

      Still nothing about scaling back WinFS. It just said it won't be included in Longhorn. That's not the same thing. That's scaling back Longhorn.

      --
      Why is anything anything?
    26. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's obvious if you take the time to look at the posting histories as the parent suggests. Every time he moves to a new account, his MO is *always* the same.

      He may have suckered you, but certainly not me.

    27. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by Ender+Ryan · · Score: 1
      "replicas of WinFS" eh? You're giving Microsoft way too much credit. This sort of thing has been talked about for ages and similar things have been done.

      Of course, MS will eventually have WinFS working, will say it's the greatest invention ever, all their own idea, patent the fuck out of it, and then threaten OS projects doing similar things(probably even ones that pre-date WinFS).

      --
      Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
    28. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by DroopyStonx · · Score: 1

      hehe, obviously it isn't failed if it was marked funny and the person made "new_here_arent_you" :)

      --
      We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
    29. Re:"Scaling back WinFS" by mo^ · · Score: 1

      As opposed to you sir who has such conviction in his beliefs that he hides behind the cowell of anonymity.... gotta admire any man who speaks up and daren't show his "face".

      And dont give me that Karma bullshit, its for the fucking birds.

      Bitch, moan, whine, criticise all you like, but please have the fucking balls to do it under your own monicker...

      Or sorry, am i supposed to support your criticism of some guy posting under 3 names when you won't even use one?

      --
      bah!*@%!
  72. Longhorn might not ever be released by atomm1024 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm starting to think that Longhorn might suffer the same fate as Apple's mid-90s Copland project. They create enormous hype for it, give developers plenty of betas and do lots of previews, but it never ends up materializing. And then, the best features from it get rolled into their existing operating system (Copland -> Mac OS 8, Longhorn -> Windows XP) and it gets canned. Then, years later, they realize that they really should have completed the objectives of the project because their existing system is getting old and stale.

    Of course there probably won't be so many parallels, but I do suspect that Longhorn will end up vaporizing and the most-demanded features and the interface will be integrated into the existing platform.

    --
    Signature.
    1. Re:Longhorn might not ever be released by hunterx11 · · Score: 1

      But will they ever release their Rhapsody? :)

      --
      English is easier said than done.
    2. Re:Longhorn might not ever be released by mikis · · Score: 1

      Remember Cairo?

  73. Slashdot logic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Phase 1: Microsoft has an endless upgrade cycle. Every year they want to sell me a new versoin of Winodws. I can't stand it!

    Phase 2: Microsoft is evil for giving away free updates. Can you believe longhorn is delayed again? XP is years old and they STILL don't have a new operating system? OMG! I Can't stand it.

  74. Re:Article Text by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So I guess Microsoft is in even deeper shit than we all thought since OpenOffice is a lot closer to taking over Office than Linux is to taking over Windows. Reason: Layperson can easily use OpenOffice in place of Office but he can't easily pick up Linux(the huge problem currently is the installing new software, drivers, etc. RPM is a good start but it needs to get more user friendly)

  75. Solaris by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Sun is doing this right now with Solaris 9.... 10.

    --

    "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
  76. .NET by rd_syringe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You upgrade because Longhorn will replace cruddy Win32 with sleek .NET, will be entirely DirectX-accelerated, and will sport a whole new interface codenamed Aero Glass. Video drivers will be pushed into userspace (finally), and various other major core architecture changes will take place.

    Note that the features in this article being made available for Windows XP are APIs. Those can be easily backported. Longhorn itself, however, is a major architectural change.

    1. Re:.NET by Henk+Poley · · Score: 1

      Video drivers will be pushed into userspace (finally)

      No not 'finally', more like '(back) again'...

      Not that it isn't a good thing.

    2. Re:.NET by FooBarWidget · · Score: 1

      And this is exactly why Longhorn will never succeed on the desktop. Until people realize users don't give a ******* about APIs or whatever and stop being elitist bastards, Longhorn will never proceed beyond where it is now.

  77. Applications drive computing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who the hell really cares how long an OS is supported for this or that? Without applications, and OS is more or less just a framework.

    Granted, I understand that this is most people's beef with Microsoft's buisiness practicies: abusing their market share (bundling) to bully this or that.

    But here's a revalation: if application support waned from Windows, would Microsoft have their current stanglehold on the market? If we could somehow tell the major (and minor) software development companies that other platforms ARE worth their time (our money), could we migrate away from Windows?

    My suggestion: let's create "osfreedom.com": A central repository for corporate HQ address/numbers of sales execs/etc. with petitioning tools to attempt to lobby these (application) software companies to make software.

    Of course... if we build it, will they come?

    1. Re:Applications drive computing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Show us that you don't mind spending money for shrink wrapped applications and we'll start writing them.

  78. The incentive was to get off 9x by rd_syringe · · Score: 2, Informative

    Windows 2000 was the NT4 successor geared toward corporate users.

    I don't know if you noticed, but XP was geared toward consumers. It got people off of 9x kernels, and for that I am eternally grateful! Not to mention System Restore, increased application compatibility, and various other minor features.

    1. Re:The incentive was to get off 9x by Miffe · · Score: 1

      increased application compatibility

      Say that to all my dos games that stopped working.

    2. Re:The incentive was to get off 9x by kayak334 · · Score: 1

      There is still hope

    3. Re:The incentive was to get off 9x by psetzer · · Score: 1

      God bless you.

      --
      "Anyone who attempts to generate random numbers by deterministic means is living in a state of sin." -- John von Neumann
  79. Question? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How in the hell did this get modded Insightful? Flamebait is more like it! I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a Microsoft fan, but I know bullshit when I see it. Throw a similar, well worded post like that up about Linux and watch the /. flames begin...

  80. MS 64-bit trouble(rehash) by st1d · · Score: 1
    Okay, I posted this on OSNews.com, but I think it's something /.ers can tear to shreds as well. Enjoy. :)

    I hate to say it, because it's already 90+ degrees (F) outside and a flame war won't help any, but I have a funny feeling MS's Longhorn problems are due more to a difficulty in migrating to 64-bit processors than anything else. This is understandable, because that area simply hasn't standardized enough for MS's "one size fits all" approach to computing. (Yes, MS has "HPC" ambitions, but that's a different market than the home/S-M-Business arena.)

    Linux (yes I'm biased) has an advantage in this regard, simply because the OSS development model tends to be quite faster on it's toes. Even inside MS, only a handful of developers understand the majority of Windows architecture (by necessity, having too many people know the entire system's internals is dangerous to MS's way of doing business), so bug stomping is necessarily more limited.

    If MS releases too early (in this case, before there is a clear consensus on processor style), they would have to do massive development to adapt, and major spin control as to why MS is falling behind in the market, or at least not selling their new OS at expected rates. While the items in the posts above no doubt have their effect, I think this is the more problematic item for MS.

    It's easier, if more dangerous, to wait until this sorts itself out, then release accordingly. I also think this is why MS is trying to play AMD and Intel against each other (every couple months, one is "favored" over the other by MS execs), in order to force some kind of agreement earlier than it might develop otherwise.

    Just my opinion.
    --
    Microsoft has just released their much anticipated hands-free cordless mouse. Warning, it may hurt a little at first.
  81. Re:How will the licensing structure work for XP/2K by Moridineas · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What are you attempting to say? That XP SP1 and SP2 cost money? That W2K sp1-4 cost money? That NT4 SP1-6 cost money? I don't get what you're saying.

    And SP1 broke XP machines? I've never heard of that, and I've upgraded around 20 AND read slashdot regularly ;)

    Jeez, if I had mod points I would mod you "unintelligible"

  82. Microsoft is really coming back! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First XP, a real 'miilenium' os, and now we get added Longhorn goodies!

    Microsoft has really hit back with a vengence after the dark days of Windows 98.

    Gotta hand it to Bill, he really kicked Google in the nuts this time.

    1. Re:Microsoft is really coming back! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Forgive him, for he is delusional.

  83. Microsoft Is Desperate by erikharrison · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Okay, so I know that is the kind of thing that the FLOSS zealots say all the time. But it is so obviously true in this case.

    MS is betting the company on Longhorn. No really. Their two major revenue streams, and the foundation of the modern MS is Windows and Office. Windows is a twisty maze of backwards compatibility all alike to keep both users and developers favorable to the platform. Office is packed full of enterprise features that Joe User never needs because Joe CEO does.

    MS down to it's ancient roots with custom programming languages and tools, is firmly in the realm of the rich client. Linux and BSD and OS X (and SkyOS and BeOS, and Syllable and . . . ) are becoming more prevalent because suddenly fully half of a users apps are portable! No not Office or Photoshop, but Yahoo and Google. Thin clients!

    The gigahertz war between AMD and Intel last left MS with a glut of processing power and no software capable of using it. Once MS caught up with the processor, they drove home the power of the rich client, and reestablished their platform as the primary environment for building them.

    It's happened again. Processor power is far beyond what 90% of the increasingly computer literate public needs, just like when x86 procs hit 1Ghz. But this time there is a growing base of truly alternative development and user platforms (not just OS/2 and MacOS 8, but the various POSIX and embedded platforms) while on the other side, the thin client has a solid hold in several key applications (email, dictionaries, encyclopedias, hell, even video games).

    MS wants to emulate the success of Windows 95. They want to bring an enterprise technology to the masses (NT, XP was really just a dry run for that), show users that there is a reason for all this new hardware, and reestablish themselves as THE application development environment for rich clients. It's not just getting users to upgrade (though that would make them super happy) its getting developers to use the technology.

    And they've realized that they can't bet on a huge upgrade kick to make Avalon and Indigo dominant, XP taught and continues to teach them that. So bringing these heavy investment technologies to a wider audience is the only way that MS can continue to be the largest software company in the world, and see any kind of rapid return on Longorn. If they loose this battle, they become the desktop version of Sun Microsystems. A giant, who still does good work, and whose technologies still have some milage, but ultimately in it's final days

    1. Re:Microsoft Is Desperate by bobsledbob · · Score: 2, Interesting


      Maybe I'm being cynacle today, but I've heard the "microsoft is betting the company on..." before and think the theory is a little overdone.

      Every major Microsoft revision has been heralded the same way; that MS is betting the farm on some new technology. Let's look at all the things they've bet on recently.

      Face it, Microsoft is a huge behemoth with tons of revenue and gobs of cash on hand. For one, they can do a lot of betting and it won't really effect the bottom line too much. Secondly, even if Longhorn and the other new technologies are a flop, MS will still continue to dominate in marketing spin.

      Just look at their history, almost every MS product comes out like crap. But, over time and brute force marketing, they win over the masses. I don't foresee it being any different this time.

      --
      Beware of geeks bearing formulas.
    2. Re:Microsoft Is Desperate by Freon115 · · Score: 1

      WinFX and the integration of .NET support your argument, but I think MS is really aiming at thin clients. That's what XAML is about.

    3. Re:Microsoft Is Desperate by Tim+C · · Score: 1

      They want to bring an enterprise technology to the masses (NT, XP was really just a dry run for that)

      But XP *is* NT, with an updated user interface and additional features. The kernel is the NT kernel - Win2k is NT 5, XP is NT 5.1.

      I'll accept that XP is a dry run for getting users used to running as a non-admin account, and I fully expect Longwait to create accounts as normal users by default. But saying that XP is a dry run for getting users to use NT is wrong, because it *is* NT.

    4. Re:Microsoft Is Desperate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just thinknig here - MS could remove ALL need for backward compatability by developing Wine to be 100% compatible (or as compatible as Windows versions are with others).

      OSS it and then use it like cygwin to make a "virtual Windows" for running legacy apps (similar to MacOSX running Mac OS9 for older apps.

      Why not?

  84. That's easy ... PIRACY! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Since my copy will be free, why the hell not? :P

  85. Re:Article Text by Frizzle+Fry · · Score: 1

    I don't think costing a lot is what makes something a flagship product. If that were the case, I could just as easily say that SQL Server must be Microsoft's flagship.

    --
    I'd rather be lucky than good.
  86. Offtopic: Longhorn naming origins by Osty · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As for Longhorn, you'll still buy it like all the other cattle (Ha! Longhorn! Cattle! Now I see the connection!) when it comes out, by the way, I expect the successor to Longhorn to be Bighorn (Guess the species! ;-)

    The name of Longhorn is pretty easy to track if you look at the previous version of Windows (Whistler) and the blue-sky version of Windows (Blackcomb), and know a bit about the Pacific Northwest (specifically, the Whistler ski resort up in Canada). At the Whistler resort, there are two mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb. Between the lifts for the two mountains, there is a tavern called Longhorn. The initial plan for Windows was supposed to have Longhorn be a small release between XP (Whistler) and Blackcomb, with Blackcomb coming around 2006 or 2007. Thus, Longhorn, because it's a stop on your way from Whistler to Blackcomb. Somewhere along the line, Longhorn became a much more prominant release, so the codename is no longer as appropriate, but that's the root of the name.


    Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows has an entry in the XP FAQ (near the top, scroll down about 1/5th of the page) and in the Longhorn FAQ (near the bottom) that mention this in lesser detail, though he gets the location of Longhorn wrong. The Garibaldi Lift Co. is the tavern at the base of Whistler. Quite a nice little tavern, too, if you've got friends who are into skiing or mountain biking and you're not.

  87. XAML really needs to be on earlier versions by professorfalcon · · Score: 1

    Microsoft had been saying that Avalon (and XAML) would not be backported, prior to this. Companies like Xamlon made a version of XAML that works today, but it's not compatible enough with Microsoft's version.

  88. One competitor already finished by 2nd+Post! · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Apple's already got it's next generation GUI and graphical layer, ala Avalon... and it's had it in various incarnations for the past three years.

    So even if Avalon comes out, say, in 2005, that means the competition, Apple, has implemented it for 4 years already. I do know Avalon and Quartz aren't the same in letter, but they are the same in spirit, being 3d accelerated hardware based composition and rendering engines.

    As for other technologies... we'll see how fast Apple's Tiger comes out, and the next releases, regarding WinFS and other technologies :)

    Linux just sits there happily re-implementing the best of all worlds.

    1. Re:One competitor already finished by jjhlk · · Score: 1

      Tiger is supposed to be out in Q1 2005 I think. I've been talking to some friends who have the beta about its features (I don't use any Apple products) and it looks like it'll have some nice filesystem features.

      There is custom metadata, although currently you can't add any of your own via the Finder -- other applications add the metadata and the Finder can show them. There is Spotlight, which is very accessible and searches through the metadata, file contents (I think, depending on the file), and file attributes quickly. And the coolest thing I've heard of is Smart Folders, which I believe can make a folder that contains a dynamic list of files based on some criteria (eg. all files in the system that are a certain size, or all files ending in .rom, or all files containing metadata "Author: Jack").

      Hopefully Linux will implement metadata (I've never heard of linux metadata but I suppose it could exist) and something like Smart Folders.

    2. Re:One competitor already finished by Freon115 · · Score: 1

      Well, Mozilla had XUL for a few years, and the XForm specification is dating too, but, aside from the Mozilla team itself, nobody use them.

      XAML will be released with an userfriendly (Clippy?) IDE with loads of hype and advertisement, and it will be used.

    3. Re:One competitor already finished by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So even if Avalon comes out, say, in 2005, that means the competition, Apple, has implemented it for 4 years already. I do know Avalon and Quartz aren't the same in letter, but they are the same in spirit, being 3d accelerated hardware based composition and rendering engines.

      Um, Windows has had 3D accelerated hardware-based composition since Windows 2000. That is, longer than Apple's had Quartz.

      Avalon is totally different. Quartz renders in software, using bitmaps, and merely composites in hardware. Avalon renders 100% in hardware, using vectors. You simply cannot compare it to Quartz; it's an order of magnitude more advanced. (That's one reason why we're still not expecting to see it in production for two more years!)

    4. Re:One competitor already finished by 2nd+Post! · · Score: 1

      Avalon isn't *totally* different.

      It is different, but it is also similar. Avalon is supposed to keep all the primitives down to the hardware, such that transforms retain maximum flexibility. Quartz flattens the primitives at a fairly early stage (possibly because until recently the hardware available couldn't handle anything else!) such that for the first iteration all the hardware had to do was composite bitmaps.

      Now it can actually do a little more, with transforms, and I expect with Tiger, and more advanced shaders and hardware, some higher levels of QE.

      I do expect by the time Avalon ships that both systems will be functionally identical.

  89. Are they going to keep... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are they gonna keep the technology that allows Windows users to continue to be plagued by viruses/trojans/worms/spyware/malware/script kiddies/etc.?

    Come on, people... pull your head out of your ass and stop using M$ products.

  90. Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by shanen · · Score: 0, Troll

    Okay, I also run two XP boxen. So sue me.

    In today's episode, all I would like to do is install SP2 to bring them up to date with the state-of-the-wooly-art that is supposed to be XP. Crawled all over the WindowsUpdate site, and no can do. What is easy to do is turn on automatic update so Microsoft can install and run anything they want on my machines anytime they want. No, thanks.

    Q1: Why isn't SP2 offered as a "normal" "critical" update?

    Q2: Why are they hiding it?

    <rhetorical>
    Q3: Do they think they own my computer?
    </rhetorical>

    Obviously Microsoft does think they own my computer and they they they know better than I do where they want me to go today. In response, I would say where they can go, but this is supposed to be a Web site for the whole family, so with some difficulty I shall restrain my sharp tongue.

    --
    Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
    1. Re:Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by afidel · · Score: 1

      I think it's an oversight at this point. Besides you can set auto update to download and ask you before installing any updates.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    2. Re:Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by kayak334 · · Score: 4, Informative

      What is easy to do is turn on automatic update so Microsoft can install and run anything they want on my machines anytime they want. No, thanks.

      You're kidding right? The very first time automatic update tries to turn on, it asks you if you want to:
      1. Have it download and install updates automatically (great for grandma)
      2. Just download, but ask me before installing
      3. Notify me, but don't download or install anything.
      4. Totally turn off automatic updates

      Before you join the, "windows sucks no matter what" group on /., why don't you check your facts first? Aparently you missed options 2-4.

    3. Re:Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by Richard_at_work · · Score: 1

      Is this a blatent troll attempt or what? Firstly, looking at my 'Windows Update' session, I can see an entry for SP2 there straight away, no hiding it, no 'automatic updates' here (which, by the way, doesnt automatically install anything, stop trolling). Secondly, I downloaded the .exe for it a week or so ago, so again, no hiding it there either. You restrain that tongue, since you dont seem to have the brain power to back it up at all.

      For anyone else that tries this, automatic updates is akin to having a cron job for 'apt-get update', it refreshes the 'current updates' list that apply to you, without installing anything unless it has your prior aproval.

    4. Re:Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please don't say "boxen." It's stupid. If I could sue you for that I would.

    5. Re:Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by shanen · · Score: 1

      Might be related to my Japanese version of Windows XP, but I assure you that I was NOT able to find a way to download SP2 from the WindowsUpdate site as it displays on my computer here. I'm actually rather hesitant to install it, but I'm willing to risk one computer on it. My (Japanese) employer is reminding everyone NOT to install it at work on a daily basis.

      If you are talking about the SP2 links I do see, NONE of the MANY I tried led to an actual installation option. Most of them led to instructions to turn on the auto-update, with or without the confirmation option (though I got the distinct impression Microsoft would find it more convenient to just forget about confirmation and simply install whatever they want to install on my machines whenever they want to install it). Some of the links provided irrelevant information, and others offered to sell me support or a CD with SP2.

      I was not impressed. (But I admit that I've never liked Microsoft and my employer has frequently had negative experiences due to Microsoft.)

      --
      Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
    6. Re:Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck you.

    7. Re:Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by fireman+sam · · Score: 1

      "Aparently you missed options 2-4"

      But this is slashdot. Any options other than the first or last is usually unknown.

      eg:

      1. Have it download and install updates automatically
      2. ???
      3. Profit (For Bill)

      --
      it is only after a long journey that you know the strength of the horse.
    8. Re:Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by Zonnald · · Score: 1

      Minor point but the windows XP sp2 site did mention that they intended to release:

      1) home via autoupdate
      2) professional via autoupdate
      3/4) allow people to download from the site.

      It was clear but I do not care to go find the link (as it may be gone now that you can go to the SP2 site and download).

      I don't think you are very clever really.

    9. Re:Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by Donny+Smith · · Score: 1

      Well my conclusion is that Michael always posts articles that are not only pathetic trolling attempts but are also braindead and silly since their arguments almost never hold water.

      There's nothing wrong with advocacy, but when it's outright stupid, then it's wrong.

      But I guess they do their purpose - they handsomely cater to anti-Microsoft folks and outrage all the others :-)

      While I'm already here:
      > If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?

      What is the incentive to upgrade anyway? What is the incentive to buy a PC? What is the incentive to install Linux? Who gives a shit, people just want to get online to read news and check email.

      If they charged for the update, he'd complain. Now that's it's free, he's fuding. If they did it both ways (free online upgrade or commercial CD-ROM update), he'd complain about closed source or lock-in effect. Fucking moron.

    10. Re:Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by Richard_at_work · · Score: 1

      Well, looky here. Right on the Microsoft Download page, at the top of the 'favourite downloads' is this. Its conceivable that MS havent released the japanese centric version yet, but if you are going to complain about niche markets, then please make sure you include that information in the complaint, otherwise you run the risk of invalidating your complaint.

    11. Re:Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by shanen · · Score: 1

      Just to clarify, I finally did get confirmation (if I understand the Japanese correctly) that the release date for Japanese is 9/1. However, I don't feel like "niche market" ia an appropriate description of the situation. I'd think Japanese is probably the second or third largest computer language after English. (I should dig up some stats, but too tired now...)

      --
      Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
    12. Re:Longhorn? How about XP technology for XP? by mo^ · · Score: 1

      so SP2 sucks coz your meployer warns you not to download it???

      and this is obviously the fault of MS and not because your comapny has legacy and berspoke apps that need to be tested before any patches can be rolled out??

      --
      bah!*@%!
  91. ha, copeland redux by mr_burns · · Score: 1

    this reminds me of macos copeland which never came out, but it's technologies got consistently grafted onto systems 8 - 9 for years.

    --
    "Let him go, Ralph. He knows what he's doing." --Otto Mann (simpsons)
  92. Am I The Only One? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Am I the only one who thinks that "Longhorn" doesn't sound like an operating system but rather a name for a porn star? I can already see the advertisements: "Before the new Microsoft OS goes Gold, install Long Horn Silver!" In the context of men wearing tight MSN butterfly-man suits, it seems somehow appropriate...

    1. Re:Am I The Only One? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, no you're not

  93. 2006!!!!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    to have a beta version ready by next year and a final release for 2006.

    Pffff! 2006! you must be joking right, I'm sorry but the world would have moved on by then!

    Why are you MS still in tis game?

    Is it not obvious by now?!

  94. AARRLL Re:Ya'd think by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You got most of the bells and whistles of Win98 - but you didn't get the most important parts:
    Win98 Kernel (1000% more stable)
    QuickLaunch bar (I don't know a Windows user who could live w/o it now)
    USB support (didn't seem critical when the article came out - but it quickly became critical)

    1. Re:AARRLL Re:Ya'd think by bruns · · Score: 1

      Actually, didn't the activedesktop stuff enable the QuickLaunch bar in win95? I could swear I remember my old Win95 machine with IE4 and activedesktop having the bar.

      USB could be added, but it was crappy support, and I dont remember any major products actually working with Win95+usb.

      When I tried using my USB quickcam that had 98 support in it on 95+usb, 95 shit itself and detected the cam 40 or so times over and over (and even showed up in the device manager that many times).

      --
      Brielle
  95. hmm is this even important? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No really I don't care, MS is going the way of the dinosaur, no really. Wake up an d smell the coffee.

  96. Duh by Skim123 · · Score: 2, Insightful
    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?

    Think about it: if Longhorn is a major break from Win2k3/WinXP, and products written for Longhorn (using Avalon, XAML, Indigo features, taking advantage of WinFS, etc.) won't run on these older technologies, what software company in its right mind would write code using said technologies? NONE.

    However, if software companies could write code that utilizes these new features, and these new features would also work on older, still in-use OSes, then said technologies become an option for a software company.

    This move makes sense: without it, Longhorn would have a next to impossible time gaining market traction, IMO.

    --

    I could not justify my existence if I were a turkey farmer. Would I terminate myself? Undoubtably, yes.

    1. Re:Duh by dq5+studios · · Score: 1
      Think about it: if Longhorn is a major break from Win2k3/WinXP, and products written for Longhorn (using Avalon, XAML, Indigo features, taking advantage of WinFS, etc.) won't run on these older technologies, what software company in its right mind would write code using said technologies? NONE.


      Just like how no company has written programs that work exclusivly on 2k/xp/2k3 and not 95/98/me.
      Oh wait...
    2. Re:Duh by Skim123 · · Score: 1
      Just like how no company has written programs that work exclusivly on 2k/xp/2k3 and not 95/98/me.

      But the install base for 2k/xp/2k3 is high. When Longhorn roles out, only folks with bleeding edge computers will have it. Had MS not made these Longhorn features available in xp/2k3/2k, then no sane software company would develop for them until Longhorn had achieved sufficient market saturation.

      I'll say it again: Microsoft's decision was strictly a business decision, no more, no less. It's good news for those of us who are looking forward to Longhorn, since we'll be able to take advantage of some of the cool features earlier, and there's now a plausible chance that companies will start utilizing these technologies on new software projects in the foreseeable future.

      --

      I could not justify my existence if I were a turkey farmer. Would I terminate myself? Undoubtably, yes.

  97. It's not historical or for features necessarily... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Though some people "might" historically enjoy the process of upgrading (which is painfull) and some might upgrade for features, I believe the main reason is because they "have" to, if they want to continue using windows. (I agree.. use Linux) Here's why: Small business buys 3 computers. Pick your manufacturer.. HP, Dell, Gateway.. they all come with the latest version of windows. Two years later, you need to add two new computers. They come with Windows Version (1 higher than you had previously.) Oh.. and it came with a new version of office. The new version of Power Point does something different. The "old" Power Point versions don't work "right." now.. So they all upgrade. Oh.. the new version of Office requires the new version of Windows. Oh.. better upgrade that too. (Or just the fact that different versions of windows don't always work together on a network.) So, because every new computer someone buys comes with the latest stuff pre-loaded, it ends up forcing upgrades to existing machines in a given environment.

  98. upgrade to XP from 2000? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What was the reason to upgrade to XP from 2000?

    you mean upgrade -from- XP -to- 2000? :P

  99. Upgrade? by Zebra_X · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Silly rabbit, upgrades are for other OS's. You see, the term "upgrade" doesn't really fit into the subscription based model that MS has been alluding to. You'll "subscribe" to the windows platform after purchasing your new PC in 2006 and you'll continue to pay and you'll continue to receive things like winFS, avalon, indigo and whatever else they think up. the fact that MS is stating that they will be available as updates indicates such a strategy. the problem however... is microsoft's "it's done when it's done" philosophy. this philosophy doesn't work well for people who pay money on a recurring basis to get new and exciting features. They, and most software companies seem to have a history of delayed software releases.

  100. Ah, I can just imagine the adverts... by CobaltBlue612 · · Score: 1

    "Tommorows bugs today."

  101. Why do this? Quite simple, really. by CAIMLAS · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's quite obvious why MS would do this. It's basically the same reason why they let piracy run rampantly and unhindered for so many years, and then suddenly started making stronger efforts to get people authorized via the BSA.

    Quite simply, they want people on their new technology, and want to force people - as a society - to upgrade.

    How will they do this? The same way they've done it in the past. Want to run Office 2000? Great, you'll "have to" upgrade to Windows 2000 as well, because it's unstable under Windows 98. Want to be able to read that document you just got from a friend? You need to upgrade to Office 2003.

    Now, how do those situations translate to the current situation? In much the same way they're taking over the video game market with the Xbox, MSN Messenger, and DirectX: make it beneficial to the early adopters, get them hooked, and then draw people in via social networking.

    DirectX started out as a free 'add on' - Direct3D. It wasn't used by much, because it sucked. Then people started writing games using it, and it matured to what we have today. People wanted those games, so they got them, regardless of what they were based on. I suspect this will happen with the new "longhorn" technologies: people will install the frameworks "for the hell of it", install applications using those frameworks, and friends will see the new stuff and desire it. Then they'll follow suit, so on and so forth...

    In the case of the Xbox, they sold/sell a decent contender at much below production costs to try and get significant market share. They also bought out as many game providers as possible. This relates to the longhorn tech because MS is basically giving away the components - for now. In the future (aka, the Xbox2, or lonhorn itself), there will be a premium for the better products (better graphics/continued support or better stability, etc.) because they've established a market demand for those products by giving them away for free.

    In essence, it seems to me like MS is trying to turn around a potentially harmful situation (mass migration due to a huge, sudden platform change) into a positive one for them. Good for them. This has a lot of potential to really harm Linux in many ways.

    --
    ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
  102. isn't it obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's called a monopoly. they can do what ever they want when it's a monopoly. you have no choice with monopolies.

  103. It'd be a crack or keygen. by enosys · · Score: 1
    If it was some change to XP that caused it to not ask for activation that would be a crack. Of course this is possible but the legality in various countries is questionable. (eg. DMCA)

    If it gave you a code like M$ can then it'd be a keygen. Perhaps activation is cryptographically secure and it's practically impossible to generate the code because you'd need Microsoft's private key. I don't know if it's secure though, and for example there is an activation keygen for Photoshop CS. In this case too the legality is questionable in various countries.

    1. Re:It'd be a crack or keygen. by Echnin · · Score: 1

      If it is illegal, and MS sued someone who used a pirate key or other illegal manner of installing an operating system they paid money for, the court would throw it out. Sheesh.

      --
      Lalala
    2. Re:It'd be a crack or keygen. by enosys · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I doubt they would sue someone who used a pirate key or crack to install an operating system they paid for. However, if someone developed some way around activation and publicized and distributed it non-anonymously they might be in trouble. I suppose it's possible they'd win in court but they'd at least have to spend money on fighting it.

  104. who is using windows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    who is using windows anyway, if you know that there are much better alternatives you wont use it..

  105. Jumped the shark? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anybody else think slashdot has jumped the shark? There's hardly any real news left. It's mostly just Microsoft bashing and advertisements for crappy tech books disguised as "reviews".

    Here's an idea. Instead of posting a billionth story about alternatives to Windows, post an alternative to this increasingly crappy website.

    Out of spite, I denounce Slashdot and remove it from my favorites.

  106. Prior Art by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    This history that is repeating is that Microsoft is once again copying from Apple.

    I say Apple was copying 3D Realms.

  107. Re:If most of the updates will be available for cu by glass_window · · Score: 1

    Basically, by the time they've finished implementing all of it, the bugs will have done it in and you'll be a fool not to have the upgrade, else your box be owned in under 5 minutes (assuming continuation of the current trends).

  108. You poor misguided fool by Frequanaut · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "if most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?"

    Hah, Why do you think you'll have the option of *not* upgrading once you buy a new computer or some new hardware comes out that winxp doesn't support?

    Don't you worry little droogie. You'll upgrade.

  109. Solitaire/Minesweeper rendering engines? by DroopyStonx · · Score: 2, Funny

    There's no mention of this in the article, but I'm beginning to wonder if MS is the "secret" company that licensed the Doom 3 engine for use with the new versions of Solitaire and Minesweeper.

    The WinXP version was kick ass and had better AI than the POS 9x equivalents.

    I dunno, I just hope they do something besides put in a great new engine.. maybe do something about the deck-hackers on the internet. They really like to ruin everyone's fun and it pisses me off.

    --
    We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
  110. Easy by Ryosen · · Score: 1

    >>If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?"

    Same as always. DirectX will not be permitted to install on an older version of Windows, thereby forcing you to upgrade if you want to play some new game released in the far future, say, Half-Life 2.

    Also, MS will merely ram Longhorn down everyone's throats by forcing them to be installed on new PCs. Much as they did with XP.

    --

    Ryosen
    One man's "Troll, +1" is another man's "Insightful, +1".
  111. You see... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?

    If mikro$0ft gets to beta-test their upcoming features in XP, it doesn't really matter whether they fail or get excessively cracked, because the blaster worm and others have already eroded public faith in the XP system. I think they are finally realizing that they really are going to have to do better on the security front, and historically they haven't been successful doing that when showcasing new features or new stuff. If they get the core of these "new technologies" user-tested, then they will be in a better position to implement them in a more totally redesigned system.

    Of course, this sort of thing won't be easy, but if the new product they come out with actually has half-decent security and the tasty new features XP users have gotten "hooked" on, then vind0ze will be ripe to pluck many dollars from wallets of the masses.

    Or they could just, like, be trying to do the Douglas Adams three pillar thing... whatever...

  112. Get off the "no innovation" high horse by kylef · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Could it be that those who "defend the right to innovate" are simply not particularly innovative themselves?

    I'm sick of this tripe. I don't mean to jump on you alone, but I've seen way too much of this FUD parroted around Slashdot, and you're the winner of my rant. :-)

    If Microsoft doesn't innovate, then why is it that the list of improvements in the Linux 2.6 kernel reads like a feature list of NT from the early 90's?

    • O(1) scheduler? In original NT.
    • Async I/O? NT 3.5's I/O Completion ports.
    • File-aware cache manager (vs. block-aware)? Since original NT.
    • Fully preemptible kernel with fine-grained locking? Again, since original NT.
    • In-kernel thread support? Hey, original NT.
    • Support for HT (logical, not physical) CPUs? Added to NT in XP (2001).

    That's just comparing the kernel, and I won't even go into the features that NT has that Linux still hasn't implemented.

    You probably didn't know that NT already had those features, because most people don't seem to know much about Windows beyond the GUI. They assume that what they see on the surface is all that goes on. (And don't make the mistake that the NT kernel is the only innovative part about Windows.)

    My point is that you shouldn't yell about the lack of innovation in a product just because the feature you're looking for isn't there.

    1. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by Werrismys · · Score: 3, Interesting

      If the reality of NT experience means constant rebooting and reinstalling, I don't much care what the specs claim. If constant fuckups in a beautifully designed system didn't matter we'd all be using Amigas still.

      --
      'Once scientists, even the dim-witted social scientists, get muzzled, the Western Civilization is finished.' - oldhack
    2. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, I'm constantly rebooting! Give me a friggin' break zealot...

    3. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by sabNetwork · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's hard to call anything in NT a Microsoft accomplishment.

      --

    4. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by Henk+Poley · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If all the scheduling stuff that is new in linux has been around for so long in Windows When why does the new Linux kernel run so much smoother than windows on every system I have tried? You would think all the bugs would be worked out by now.

    5. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2, Insightful

      As a user, I absolutely don't care where the "threads" (WTF is that?) are, or whether the scheduler is O(1), X(2), or A(3). What I see in front of me is the Start button, the same button I've seen nine years ago. Only now it pauses for a second before displaying the menu once you click on it...

    6. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I hate posts like this. It uses a questionable argument to support a point which is almost certainly correct.

      On one hand, yes, people don't give MS enough credit for innovating. They've written a whole lot of code. Certainly some of it was new and original! Hey, we may laugh at things like Clippy and Microsoft Bob, but they were new ideas.

      On the other hand, the comparison between NT and Linux 2.6 isn't terribly useful. For one thing, other OSes (especially OS/2) may have had those features before NT. Thus MS were not necessarily the ones doing the innovation.

      Also, some of the specific features comparisons are odd choices. For example, HT support technically just requires SMP support. Linux 2.4 supports HT, and older kernels probably would only fail to support HT due to lack of support for that hardware at all, HT or not (e.g. no motherboard chipset support). Now, the ability to treat HT CPUs differently for scheduling purposes from physical CPUs is a bigger deal, but Linux 2.6's new scheduling domains are more than that. I bet that scheduling domains go beyond what NT has even now, and certainly they go beyond early 90s NT. Why in the world was that included? Another example: Linux's preemption and locking affect hardware drivers, filesystems, and other code. Making all that "fully preemptible with fine-grained locking" is a very different project than making the relatively svelte NT kernel have those features. Not a good comparison.

      Incidentally, I don't know whether NT currently has something like scheduling domains. Perhaps one reason why people don't know much about NT's kernel is because the source code and the developer mailing lists are not open to the public? Let's just say that it's easier to know about the Linux kernel, and to say that some change is clearly an improvement from what was there before (or not, as in the case of the O(1) scheduler).

    7. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by ErikZ · · Score: 0, Troll

      I thought MS didn't develop NT, they bought the company that did?

      --
      Democrats or Republicans. They are both taking us to the same place and they are not afraid of us anymore.
    8. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by mewphobia · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I'm not really that into operating system history, but at least a few of those things you listed aren't innovations.

      Async I/O? Can we say UNIX sockets or iostreams?

      fully preemptible kernel with fine-grained locking: A quick search turned up this: http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/eykholt92beyond.html
      so solaris definately had it in 92, if not earlier.

      support for HT: wtf? now it's innovation to support a chip's features?

      Actually, none of the things you have listed are innovations. You sir are a troll.

    9. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by hundalz · · Score: 1

      That's all well and good. But, why does it crash so often? Or have a BSOD often?

      Just want your point of view... (not starting a flame war)

    10. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

      Linux crashes more often then NT

    11. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by oyenstikker · · Score: 1

      Do you not know what O(1) means, or am I ignorant of X(2) and A(3)?

      --
      The masses are the crack whores of religion.
    12. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      And many of these features existed before NT aswell, hell NT itself is mostly copied from VMS, which predates linux itself by many years...
      As for support for logical CPU's, linux got support for that in 2.4.x around the same time as XP simply because thats the first time there was such hardware to run it on, however i'm pretty sure some of the higher end unix or mainframe OS's had features like this for many years.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    13. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      Not exactly, they hired the developers that did - most of the people who designed VMS for DEC back in the days, tho they were now working on an OS called "project mica" which was meant to run on the new alpha chips still in development..
      DEC actually sued microsoft over this, and won, hence why microsoft were forced to port NT to the alpha architecture.

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    14. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      Only when misconfigured, or running a beta version... I have never had a non development-series linux kernel crash on me... I have also had beta versions of windows that were terribly unstable but thats not important... The fact that versions of windows labelled as "release quality" crash on a regular basis is terrible, admittedly it's got a lot better recently but it still happens..

      --
      http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
    15. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by kylef · · Score: 1
      Async I/O? Can we say UNIX sockets or iostreams?

      True, Unix has had Async sockets for some time, but that hardly represents a generic asynchronous I/O model that works for ALL types of I/O. And I/O Completion Ports are such a powerful abstraction that MS holds several patents on the idea because it makes async I/O so much more efficient than in other OSes.

      fully preemptible kernel with fine-grained locking: A quick search turned up this: http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/eykholt92beyond.html so solaris definately had it in 92, if not earlier.

      There is no question that Solaris was always one of the more advanced OS kernels in the world. But in 1992, when NT beta (with its preemptible kernel intact) was released to the world, it was the ONLY such beast available to run on personal computers. And I'm sure that NT, too, had its preemptible kernel working long before the beta release in 1992. And NT had the distinct advantage of being able to run on the most popular series of computers in history, the IBM-compatible PC. It did not require Sun's latest SPARC hardware, and cost no where near Sun's $1000+ licensing costs. Most Unix snobs at the time said it couldn't be done on PC hardware, and even if it could be done, why would you want to do it? If you think doing something that people said couldn't (and shouldn't) be done isn't innovative, then I don't know what is.

      support for HT: wtf? now it's innovation to support a chip's features?

      Actually, yes. Because the NT kernel's design is so robust, adding support for features like "logical cpu's" and non-uniform memory architectures is relatively easy to do.

      Besides, you've missed my entire point. My point is that most people around here keep trumpeting Linux as the truly "innovative" platform today, when in reality Linux is most definitely a follower. It *is* catching up quickly, though.

    16. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by tgrigsby · · Score: 1

      If Microsoft doesn't innovate, then why is it that the list of improvements in the Linux 2.6 kernel reads like a feature list of NT from the early 90's?

      And NT's feature list reads like a feature list for VAX VMS from the mid-80's. Of course, that's because Microsoft hired away one of the top architects for VMS from DEC.

      Innovation? No. Really good at copying other people's work with varying results? Oh yea. Definitely.

      --
      *** *** You're just jealous 'cause the voices talk to me... ***
    17. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by mewphobia · · Score: 1

      I guess it's just a matter of opinion, but I still don't see your points as innovation.

      i can kinda see your async point - what you're saying is the innovation is in the interface? That's fair enough. But i don't know what NT's async i/o does that select() doesn't.

      I don't see the "fully preemptible kernel with fine-grained locking" as innovation. I don't know where you get the "Most Unix snobs at the time said it couldn't be done on PC hardware" bit, but anyone with an ounce of sense knows that moores law has been in effect for years. I'd be interested in the reasons why these unix snobs thought it couldn't be done.

      Actually, yes. Because the NT kernel's design is so robust, adding support for features like "logical cpu's" and non-uniform memory architectures is relatively easy to do.

      How many architectures does NT run on? how many does linux/unix run on? NT's kernel design doesn't look so robust anymore.

      I think the thing that makes linux innovative more than anything else is the open source paradigm. Is that specific to linux? No. But that, combined with good leadership has made linux microsoft's number 1 threat. That's no mean feat in itself.

    18. Re:Get off the "no innovation" high horse by kylef · · Score: 1
      i can kinda see your async point - what you're saying is the innovation is in the interface? That's fair enough. But i don't know what NT's async i/o does that select() doesn't.

      Well first of all, there is a huge distinction between driver-level asynchronous I/O and user-level asynchronous I/O. select() operates at user-mode level; the kernel gives the user the illusion that things are happening asynchronously by using threads on your behalf in the kernel. Prior to 2.6, these kernel threads did in fact block for I/O operations to complete. And the reason this is bad news is that once a kernel thread starts executing in a pre-2.6 kernel, nothing can preempt it. Character drivers in 2.6 kernels now have an asynchronous API they can use for operation, which is totally new to Linux. You should be able to google for it to read about it.

      How many architectures does NT run on?

      Currently only 3: x86, x86-64, and IA64. Support was dropped for MIPS and Alpha due to utter lack of sales (not for any technical reason). No other architectures have been seriously entertained, primarily due to lack of potential revenue. It costs lots of money to support these platforms, just in terms of testing and maintenance; if sales don't justify them, they are dropped.

      NT's kernel design doesn't look so robust anymore.

      On the contrary: the kernel is very portable and robust to hardware changes. NT was the first platform demonstrated publicly running on AMD64 systems in native 64-bit mode. The biggest limit there is simply MS's resources: they decided there would be a market for AMD64 boxes, but not for NT on Playstation 2. :-)

  113. Compatibility? Oh wait XP SP2 broke that! by syousef · · Score: 1

    Compatibility? Oh wait XP SP2 broke that!

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  114. Typical microshaft. by oR3n · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Well, what do you expect, microshaft isn't that well of a company. Seriously, though, it might be positive in certain ways; might offer users a "preview" into the look on Longhorn, or maybe a limited/smaller version of it. Who knows, microshaft can be as unpredictable as their products' stability is, I guess. -.-

  115. MODS: TROLL ALERT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't be taken in by this idiot--he has accounts under the names bonch and Overly Critical Guy. He has a history of astroturfing for Microsoft, bashing anything Open Source, using lies and half-truths to get modded up, karma whoring, and the usual trolling (under his bonch account, he got a troll posted to the front page of Slashdot).

    All you have to do to check the veracity of this is to look at the posting history of his two old personnae (linked above) and his current one to figure it out.

    Please do not mod this jerk up--every time you do the Slashdot S/N ratio goes down while bonch/Overly Critical Guy/rd_syringe just laughs at you.

    This has been a public service announcement

  116. Why upgrade? by DarkMantle · · Score: 0, Redundant

    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?"

    Simple, remember when Windows 98 was basically win95 with IE4.0 enhancing the experience? And remember the bugs that were caused by installing IE4.0 on win95? I do... it wasn't pretty.

    These are NEW technologies, and Micro$oft wants to use all windows xp users as a beta test for this new technology, it's cheaper then paying beta testers, AND those that buy windows xp even are PAYING to be beta testers.

    --
    DarkMantle I been bored, so I started a blog.
  117. Re:If most of the updates will be available for cu by SirTalon42 · · Score: 1

    5 minutes before you put the install CD in?

  118. Re:If most of the updates will be available for cu by glass_window · · Score: 1

    Sounds about right, installation won't even be finished.

  119. Mozilla allows you to change the colors by superyooser · · Score: 2, Informative
    Mozilla 1.8 alpha 3 has support for per-site user stylesheet rules. Putting the following in userContent.css in your profile's chrome directory ...
    @-moz-document domain(it.slashdot.org) {
    a { color: #006666 ! important; }
    }
    ... will make the links here the regular Slashdot green.

    Examples bug comment

    It was checked into the trunk codebase after Firefox had branched, so it won't show up in Firefox until the 1.1 builds.

  120. Upgrade incentive by dmaxwell · · Score: 1

    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?

    Why the spiffy new desktop theme that lets you this is the newest high tech deal, of course!

  121. Lifecyles by SeaFox · · Score: 1

    According to Micorsoft, the product lifecycle is five years.

    The way Longhorn is coming, Windows XP will have reached the end of its own support time before Longhorn is released.

    Do you think Microsoft is going to end product activation on it's current version of WIndows before they are at least two major releases past it?

    Hey! Think of the money Microsoft will save in technical support staff wages during that interim!

  122. You don't get it by quadra23 · · Score: 1

    I have no idea how you missed what I was saying; however, care to let me explain. I am not saying anything about SP1 for XP costing money, I'm simply making a comparison where XP SP1 broke machines which also makes it likely for these upgrades that allow XP to function like Longhorn.

    As I said in the first sentence, MS is not a company that gives things away for free -- unless it profits their products (i.e. "free" developer tools for overpriced dev products -- wow so "free"). Why would they willing allow XP to be upgraded to Avalon, etc. without cost to consumer? They want to sell Longhorn not simply allow people to upgrade for free (i.e. Is Office 2000 free to Office '97 users?!). Think it through man -- I did. MS has a whole history it's not like they didn't burn people with this stuff before...

    You haven't heard of SP1 break machines? I have -- legit copies too, you probably don't deal with as many XP users as I do and those who have broken their Windows machines probably moved to Linux so you don't hear their compliants -- or they just live without SP1 after a rebuild (that's what you do, MS won't reimburse you so complaining doesn't fix anything)...

    1. Re:You don't get it by Moridineas · · Score: 1

      You're right I don't get it--apologies if you're not a native English speaker, but your sentences just don't parse properly. I'll break it down..

      I have no idea how you missed what I was saying; however, care to let me explain. I am not saying anything about SP1 for XP costing money, I'm simply making a comparison where XP SP1 broke machines which also makes it likely for these upgrades that allow XP to function like Longhorn.

      I don't get this..I'd GUESS you're saying that since a previous pgrade (according to you) broke some machines, these other upgrades offered before Longhorn could break some machines? That's stupid if that's what you mean.

      As I said in the first sentence, MS is not a company that gives things away for free -- unless it profits their products (i.e. "free" developer tools for overpriced dev products -- wow so "free"). Why would they willing allow XP to be upgraded to Avalon, etc. without cost to consumer? They want to sell Longhorn not simply allow people to upgrade for free (i.e. Is Office 2000 free to Office '97 users?!). Think it through man -- I did. MS has a whole history it's not like they didn't burn people with this stuff before...

      Again, this just doesn't make sense. Microsoft has repeatedly given things away to advance their products--every service pack ever as I showed in my last email. Internet Explorer! etc etc. No, their main product upgrades to a new cardinal version costs money, yes. Is this any different from any other company that sells any software? no. It's quite obvious and not complicated why they are giving out parts of Longhorn for free--so developers will use it, so users will use it, and people will get excited about Longhorn.

      You haven't heard of SP1 break machines? I have -- legit copies too, you probably don't deal with as many XP users as I do and those who have broken their Windows machines probably moved to Linux so you don't hear their compliants -- or they just live without SP1 after a rebuild (that's what you do, MS won't reimburse you so complaining doesn't fix anything)...

      Well as I said, I've upgraded about 20 XP boxes to SP1 and SP2 (and those are of course legit--I don't pirate), and haven't had a single application or box break. I hope that satisfies your dick measuring competition.

    2. Re:You don't get it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let me see if I can do my best to google up some of the news artcles and links that recommended against installing SP1 so perhaps you can understand the reasons why...

      Windows XP SP1 problems
      Windows XP Update crashes some PCs
      XPdlite (contains an SP1 caution)
      Forums

      Hopefully that gives a general idea on the subject. I would have liked to have stuck to news sites only... but ancient articles of the web aren't as easy to find as one might expect.

    3. Re:You don't get it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you're an idiot and a faggot.

  123. Subscription by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Good! Those suckers^H^H^H^H^H^H^H customers who think Windows subscription is a good thing will be guaranted to get something in 2006. I wonder if those bozo^H^Hsses will continue the next subscription period thinking that Microsoft's uber-OS is inevitable.

  124. Another one... by Henk+Poley · · Score: 1

    Faster boot times

  125. Re:It's not historical or for features necessarily by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Quit saying "oh" so much. I don't know if you intended to use it for humor or effect, but it's just annoying.

  126. Your reason for updates: "Me too" by Nice2Cats · · Score: 2, Insightful
    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?"

    So you don't look like a complete bozo when all your friends show off their Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" and Linux new X.org systems. Both are looking really cool already, are getting lots of press coverage, and Microsoft needs to do something to give their customers the feeling that they are not being left behind any more than they are already. This is a "me too" release.

  127. It's about the developers by lpontiac · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Microsoft has been seeing increased resistance from developers over stuff like Avalon.

    "No, I _don't_ want to throw away my WinForms stuff to develop for Avalon, which may be easier and more powerful to use, but will restrict my target market to those running Longhorn," is the general vibe.

    By making Avalon available for Windows XP (presumably as some sort of runtime), Microsoft makes developing against Avalon a more realistic proposition.

    As for all the users in here asking "why the hell would I want Avalon?" - some application developer will choose to use Avalon, and if you want that application, you'll want Avalon.

    1. Re:It's about the developers by Thing+1 · · Score: 1
      As for all the users in here asking "why the hell would I want Avalon?" - some application developer will choose to use Avalon, and if you want that application, you'll want Avalon.

      For proof-of-concept, see the Microsoft .NET Framework.

      (Sorry to post so late, caught this in meta-moderation...)

      --
      I feel fantastic, and I'm still alive.
  128. System Restore is worthless by beakburke · · Score: 1
    If the computer get's infested with spyware and viruses, the first thing you have to do is to "disable" the System restore, so it doesn't try to "fix" your removal of the aforementioned parasites by putting them right back on. (Especially since you don't always know exactly when the infection occured.)

    The system file checker is actually useful, but system restore is just crap!

    --
    ----- Question authority, but not ours. Hate the man, but we're not him.
  129. sick of it all.. Re:I want to know too! by perler · · Score: 1
    if you get new hardware you certainly want to upgrade.

    i'm a bit sick of all the MS bashing sometimes. see, as an IT-consultant, i install new PCs, servers etc. for a living. i certainly don't install every new MS OS just after release, but i haven't upgraded my servers to the 2.6 kernels too.

    but, since a year, I certainly install XP, not 2000, on new PCs. why? because it is better then 2000, ME (oh my god! ;) ), 98 and NT. hardware detection has gotten better, WLAN support works, no need for a third party firewall, you can easily downgrade the UI to 9x/2000 style etc. - so why should i install an older windows just to proove that i'm a REAL /.er.. ? ;)

    PAT

  130. Chicken Little here with an announcement... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Some feel that Microsoft has actually lost the war for the Windows API

    Here is the train that no one sees coming - MS isn't stealing an API or a package or a language this time. With Indigo, MS is trying to steal the next major programming paradigm. MS is quietly patenting the successor to OO, every wild and not-so-wild idea that anyone can pull out of their ass is being patented as a means of covering all bets. Somebody who works for MS (one of the people who burdened us with XML and then came over from the XML dark side, only to take the SOA ring back with him to the MS dark side) realized that OO programming is too hard and inefficient (save your sob stories) and said wow this old school internet thing was right all along, you remember they used have stuff like UUCP, SMTP, etc. So they slap a new name on it and all the middleware vendors dogpile onto it - it is now called SOA - A nice quippy 5 point definition for you here:

    1) Interactions between "services" is by passing messages (not fucking objects) using a "contract" [protocol was too computer-y sounding] OMG, sounds almost platform independent, but wait don't forget the patentable XML trick - that will un-platform independent it.

    1b) Ability of interacting services to hold a meaningful conversation is based on protocol version compatibility. Oops, I mean it is based on "Policy" (Don Box) This is also known as "Duh!"

    1c) Services are autonomous. This is also known as "SOA Fantasy: The Duhpocalypse"

    2) Assume an unreliable network - that was easy back then.

    3) Look shit ("services") up in some kind of directory (DNS was too flexible and easy, lets go with UDDI or something similarly unimplementable or Active Directory maybe?)

    4) Have boundaries (used to be called "You have your systems and we have ours", aided by a thing called dns to define the "boundaries").

    5) Try to be stateless - good luck.

    The only problem for people like BEA who sees that they will lose their business if people go to a fully distributed SOA model for apps in the future is: MS has gotten religion in time, this time, and BEA can't compete with MS's devtools and their ownership of a ubiquitous server platform (ie every system running Indigo - which is included "free" with any MS OS) and it fits perfectly with their goals:

    1) Make it easy for any idiot to develop and deploy MS apps
    2) Force people to run clients and servers using only MS OSs
    3) Disallow FOSS software from duplicating functionality or participating as clients or servers

    I think that covers their goals.

    And when they patent everything to do with SOA and roll out Indigo they will have achieved that.

    I don't think there is anything that will keep them from this. Anyone? anyone?

    Copyright 2004 Rob TVZmclxO0rqHcAZ9xdxBOzosso
    Attribution required for reproduction outside of /.
    Why the "uncool" copyright? because every techno-hipster is blathering on and on about SOA these days and I don't want to see my post show up on their "advertise here for $100/wk" techno-histper blogs without proper attribution, even if they do only want to make fun of it.

    1. Re:Chicken Little here with an announcement... by mav[LAG] · · Score: 1

      And when they patent everything to do with SOA and roll out Indigo they will have achieved that.

      I don't think there is anything that will keep them from this. Anyone? anyone?


      Maybe two things. 1. No-one uses it or 2. no-one outside the US cares about any stupid patents about it and re-implements it their own way.

      --
      --- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
  131. Re:If most of the updates will be available for cu by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

    It will not, but the way it's broken will be declared the standard and the XP release will be retconned to an experimental beta preview demonstration teaser that was never spposed to "work" anyway.

    --
    USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  132. Privoxy too by TeknoHog · · Score: 1
    I've set up a rewrite rule in Privoxy to:
    s|//[a-z]+\.slashdot\.org|//slashdot.org|ig

    Thus it rewrites the domain parts of URLs from anything.slashdot.org to slashdot.org.

    --
    Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
  133. Simple answer by JFMulder · · Score: 1

    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?

    DRM!!!

    Yeah... right...

  134. The Reason by beaverbrother · · Score: 1

    Longhorn will be designed with these features in mind. The base of the os will be optimized for it, and the features will be more tightly interwoven.

  135. Re:The incentive to upgrade... [Off-Topic] by Lifewolf · · Score: 1
    Nothing's forcing you not to use Vegas, Cleaner, and Combustion. All 3 blow the doors off the Adobe equivalent.

    An excellent point, but I'd recommend avoiding Cleaner. Discreet broke the interface, stopped releasing updates some time ago, and has now pulled all their coders off the product. It's dead.

    Instead, try ProCoder, the new Squeeze, or one of the other alternatives.

    --
    "Be Happy or Die." -- AoN
  136. Why by Deliveranc3 · · Score: 1

    Microsoft is after the holy grail just like every other programmer, an operating system that can stand the test of time.

    Sure quantum computing might bring a change that renders the bit a useless form but baring that it should be possible if others follow your compatibility instructions.

    I can't see my grandkids or even me in 3 years running xp so of course they are going to upgrade.

    Regardless of whether profit comes into it they are working on a solution, sure the specs are high, they need to support tonnes of stuff and a level of backwards compatability which is absurd, developers with closed code who don't even mention that they are developing for the OS.

    Even with these obstacles MS does have the power of universal compatability on their side, developers are very likely to consider a MS port when they start writting code.

    So let's stop complaining and hope it's good, if it's not there's plenty of time to not switch.

  137. "Release early, release often" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does this strike anyone like MS is desperately trying to match the more frequent and more modular releases of Mac OS X and the various Linux distros? The huge, monolithic, ever-slipping OS release has been a major pain for Microsoft ever since Windows 1.0 and the only reason they have been able to get away with it this long is because their competitors have often been equally bad (OS X took initially forever to arrive and broke lots of apps) and because they are a monopoly. Now they will need to match the ability of Apple and Linux distributors to update the kernel, the graphics subsystem, the desktop, what have you, independently of the other components. Apple is releasing time-based updates, as are several Linux distributors. They simply include the latest versions of whatever is ready. Microsoft cannot afford to be held back by one component or another that does not happen to be ready to go.

  138. Re:Monad Madness by freezin+fat+guy · · Score: 1

    Longhorn is going to include some exciting new technologies... most importantly their new Monad (you really must research this)

    I did some research and it appears the new shell was originally to be named Gates One-up-on uNix ADministrative tool.

    Only after their lawyers insisted they couldn't patent the name in more than a handful of countries they went with the name Monad, which thankfully still rhymed.

  139. Just works... by argent · · Score: 1

    Firewire is a communications protocol. It's up to the device at the other end to provide a standard interface. Knowing Sony, I wouldn't be surprised that they require special drivers: they have their own flash memory standard, incompatible extensions to PalmOS, and I had to download drivers from Sony to get a friend's first gen Clie to talk to my computer.

    Sure, Windows is more likely to have working drivers than Mac OS, simply because it's more popular so more vendors continue to provide updates to the drivers, but I've got a box full of Mouse Systems optical mice from 1992 that I can't use in any version of Windows past 3.11. They work fine in FreeBSD and Linux, though: if you really want to get oddball hardware to work, those are the systems to try.

  140. ...it will WORK! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ah, switching to Linux, are you?

    Best,
    Mal the Elder

  141. Why I upgraded to XP by sita · · Score: 1

    Because the windows started to stack in the task bar. I can't understand why it took MS so long to figure that one out.

  142. YOU ARE A MICROSOFT SHILL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seriously, you must work for MS marketing since I've never heard anybody else gush over their crapware as much as you do (well, except for your other accounts, that is).

    Your bias is a clear as "Aero Glass".

  143. MODS: TROLL ALERT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't be taken in by this idiot--he has accounts under the names bonch and Overly Critical Guy. He has a history of astroturfing for Microsoft, bashing anything Open Source, using lies and half-truths to get modded up, karma whoring, and the usual trolling (under his bonch account, he got a troll posted to the front page of Slashdot).

    All you have to do to check the veracity of this is to look at the posting history of his two old personnae (linked above) and his current one to figure it out.

    Please do not mod this jerk up--every time you do the Slashdot S/N ratio goes down while bonch/Overly Critical Guy/rd_syringe just laughs at you.

    This has been a public service announcement

  144. DRM by sadiklis · · Score: 1
    If most of the updates will be available for current versions of Windows, what is the incentive to upgrade?"

    It's DRM. If MS will forge an agreement with a few big content providers and you'll want to access that content, you'll need a new DRMed PC with a new DRM-certified OS.

  145. Could it be that you're full of shit? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Let's see... Ah yes, you are. Or are you going to say that your beloved billg@microsoft.com is lying?
    All it takes is a little basic research first.
    Yeah, and you should know. The moderators around here should know better too than to mod up overrated, uninsightful crap like yours.
  146. TO WHOEVER MODDED ME UP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hope you die.

  147. TO WHOEVER MODDED ME DOWN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hope you die.

  148. You just stated EXACTLY WHAT I SAID by rd_syringe · · Score: 1

    Did you even read my post? WinFS isn't cancelled, it's being shipped as a beta on release of Longhorn. I stated that very fact in my post. The CNN article also states that.

    will be shipped later, with a test, or beta version, of WinFS shipping along with Longhorn in 2006.

    Where do you get "cancelled" from that? Where do you get "scaled back?" Nowhere in any article does it state WinFS is getting scaled back.

    How about an apology from you to me for not actually reading my post? Sigh...idiocy.

  149. YOU ARE THE IDIOT, BUT LACK THE BRAINS TO SEE THAT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  150. Your ignorant and have just proved it Congrats by quadra23 · · Score: 1

    Again, this just doesn't make sense. Microsoft has repeatedly given things away to advance their products--every service pack ever as I showed in my last email. Internet Explorer!

    Wow, they give it away so freely -- built right into the OS so you can never fully remove it. I think you mean maintain control over your computer -- not giving full control to the user (The whole point of a PC, but not according to MS). You certainly don't have your facts there and/or are ignorant of the truth. Why do you think the EU is trying to sue MS? Maybe you never heard about it...

    Well as I said, I've upgraded about 20 XP boxes to SP1 and SP2 (and those are of course legit--I don't pirate), and haven't had a single application or box break

    Did you try it on every PC in the world? Guess not, so in essence, your saying if I polled 200 people about their views on a particular subject then I can automatically assume that the majority among them is true among everyone in the world?! Ignorance...

    I hope that satisfies your dick measuring competition.

    Actually I was stating fact, you were the one that made it into a competition. I hope you enjoyed making a fool out of yourself by turning it into a "competition". Unlike you, I'd rather stick with the facts. My whole statement has to do with commercial selling of the patches not XP SP breaks this -- that's a side point but you'd rather use that to satisfy your desire for "competition".

    Moridineas, perhaps I offended you in a previous life, why else would you try to tell me I was making something into a competition when it was secretly you?

    1. Re:Your ignorant and have just proved it Congrats by Moridineas · · Score: 1

      Wow, they give it away so freely -- built right into the OS so you can never fully remove it. I think you mean maintain control over your computer -- not giving full control to the user (The whole point of a PC, but not according to MS). You certainly don't have your facts there and/or are ignorant of the truth. Why do you think the EU is trying to sue MS? Maybe you never heard about it...

      Ok fine, even if I accepted everything you say here at face value (which I don't) MICROSOFT IS GIVING THINGS AWAY. That is all I was saying after you said they never gave anything away. Having proved that they give things away you can't just say, oh, well, that's not what I meant by give away (and I'll add Windows media player, .Net framework, ROTOR framework, etc). I'd love to hear what facts I don't have straight as I've listed examples, and you've ranted.

      Did you try it on every PC in the world? Guess not, so in essence, your saying if I polled 200 people about their views on a particular subject then I can automatically assume that the majority among them is true among everyone in the world?! Ignorance...

      No, but you know, in my book if I upgrade 20 computers two service packs flawlessly, and I've never heard of anyone's computer dieing from either one first hand, that's good enough for me. I don't know what other standard one must be held.

      Actually I was stating fact, you were the one that made it into a competition. I hope you enjoyed making a fool out of yourself by turning it into a "competition". Unlike you, I'd rather stick with the facts. My whole statement has to do with commercial selling of the patches not XP SP breaks this -- that's a side point but you'd rather use that to satisfy your desire for "competition".

      Moridineas, perhaps I offended you in a previous life, why else would you try to tell me I was making something into a competition when it was secretly you?


      I still don't understand your points--WHAT commercial selling of patches? MS makes every patch available for free! That's my point!

      Again, I'm sorry if you're a non-native speaker, as I think we're missing some vital element of communication--let me remind you of your quote that made it into what i humorously described as a competition--you said " you probably don't deal with as many XP users as I do"...thus my competition remark.

      I'm afraid I STILL don't know what you're trying to communicate to me.

    2. Re:Your ignorant and have just proved it Congrats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Again, I'm sorry if you're a non-native speaker, as I think we're missing some vital element of communication--let me remind you of your quote that made it into what i humorously described as a competition--you said " you probably don't deal with as many XP users as I do"...thus my competition remark

      Sorry if your a non-native reader! You appear to be failing the keys to communication here. I read the original article and his statements and I can see exactly what he is saying, why can't you? Probably cause you didn't read the original article and just jumped in saying huh?! Geez dude learn to read everything not be a "selective" ignorant reader that you are and learn to read the whole picture before questioning people on "what is your point" when if you read the whole picture it would make sense

  151. Let me spell out what you are missing by quadra23 · · Score: 1

    Ok fine, even if I accepted everything you say here at face value (which I don't) MICROSOFT IS GIVING THINGS AWAY. That is all I was saying after you said they never gave anything away.

    Misinterpretation, I didn't say they didn't give anyway anything, I said they didn't give anything that wasn't somehow directly related to one of their products (i.e. IE inreversibly built-in to Windows 98 and up) and their control over what must be present on a Windows box. Look at DRM, how about WMP? If I was a monopoly and wanted to control the user I'd give stuff like this too then I'd mix in some Palladium to ensure only stuff I support can run on my OS -- paradise for a monopoly!

    I still don't understand your points--WHAT commercial selling of patches? MS makes every patch available for free! That's my point!

    I am referring to the new Longhorn network and graphics (Avalon) interfaces as patches, we don't even know if they are free yet, and if Longhorn will cost $800 (Assuming from the rising prices of new MS OSes -- a continual rise) how can we assume those patches (network and graphics) will be free for XP and 2003, MS wants to make more money yearly and free upgrades to new OS has never been in their past so how can it be in their future? Perhaps it will be like Windows XP Upgrade -- a reduced amount but I am certain they will charge something to convince people to buy Longhorn instead of a simple upgrade.

    So you don't get confused, Avalon and the network interface for Longhorn that will be available for Windows XP and 2003 will not be "absolutely free" just like Windows XP Upgrade isn't.

    1. Re:Let me spell out what you are missing by Moridineas · · Score: 1

      Misinterpretation, I didn't say they didn't give anyway anything, I said they didn't give anything that wasn't somehow directly related to one of their products (i.e. IE inreversibly built-in to Windows 98 and up) and their control over what must be present on a Windows box. Look at DRM, how about WMP? If I was a monopoly and wanted to control the user I'd give stuff like this too then I'd mix in some Palladium to ensure only stuff I support can run on my OS -- paradise for a monopoly!

      Ok, well ignoring media player (mac also), .net framework, internet explorer (runs on mac!), rotor framework (freebsd, etc!), etc, how could microsoft give _anything_ away that isn't somehow related to one of their existingp roducts? They're a software company, everything they make is going to be related.

      I am referring to the new Longhorn network and graphics (Avalon) interfaces as patches, we don't even know if they are free yet, and if Longhorn will cost $800 (Assuming from the rising prices of new MS OSes -- a continual rise) how can we assume those patches (network and graphics) will be free for XP and 2003, MS wants to make more money yearly and free upgrades to new OS has never been in their past so how can it be in their future? Perhaps it will be like Windows XP Upgrade -- a reduced amount but I am certain they will charge something to convince people to buy Longhorn instead of a simple upgrade.

      Ok, if Longhorn consumer edition costs $800 I'll shoot myself in the face. I think you're on crack that you would even guess Longhorn is that expensive. How can we assume patches will be free? Because MS has never charged for patches, and you've offered no evidence, YET AGAIN, to the contrary. Windows XP upgrades--FREE.

      So you don't get confused, Avalon and the network interface for Longhorn that will be available for Windows XP and 2003 will not be "absolutely free" just like Windows XP Upgrade isn't.

      Once again I say, you're on crack--XP upgrades ARE free.

  152. Your not worth arguing with by quadra23 · · Score: 1

    Start MoridineasChat

    I think you're on crack that you would even guess Longhorn is that expensive

    LOL so you gonna tell me that XP Pro costs $330 retail (even that is generous)? So you smoke crack and figure I do...wow your very lame all your comments are based on put-downs saying I'm right and your wrong -- just like a 4 year old kid. I fail to see how anyone can carry a decent conversation on with you, you must live under a rock -- social skills of 0. You even fail to understand that $800 was a ballpark guess making the assumption that it was fact when it isn't even out yet (ignorance on your part)!!!

    Carry on your little "competition" but I will no longer respond to your ignorance of a 4 year old, either grow up or find a website tailored to your little "competitions" and "selective" reading of people's statements so that you can talk them down. You certainly don't advance society you would rather drag it down to the gutter -- and I hate to say it but it's true from all your previous posts. You must be a high-up in MS to defend them so strongly -- their pricey scheme is entirely retarded but you don't want to see it with your "selective" view. Thanks for dragging my 3 statements of truth into a useless argument because you want to be right and everyone else wrong! I've had my fill of your ignorance and learn to grow up.

    END MoridineasChat

    1. Re:Your not worth arguing with by Moridineas · · Score: 1

      Wow, the jokes on me..I just thought you didn't know english very well, but I see now I've been trolled! Congrats for a good trawl ;)

  153. Re:Article Text by nial-in-a-box · · Score: 1
    Well, that's obvious, but did you ever consider what product is on almost every business user's Windows or Mac machine? That's right, Microsoft Office. Considering even using site licensing Office typically costs hundreds of dollars per machine simply to install and use, it is much, much more expensive than products such as SQL Server. You really have to look at the whole picture. I guess people are so entrenched in the whole Linux-vs-Windows thing that they have lost sight of the fact that replacing the Office suite is the easier and more significant task. If you get all your users using OpenOffice and Mozilla products on Windows, then whenever you upgrade their machines you just install Linux instead and put those exact same products on top. They'll hardly even appreciate the difference, other than the presumed speed and stability improvements. If, on the other hand, you dump users right into Linux without transitioning like this, they are more likely to freak out. When everything changes at once, there is going to be an awful lot of lost productivity. Anyway, this is really going off-topic, but honestly for business-people who make decisions, the most compelling reason to use Windows right now is for Office. You can get everything else on Linux, and hopefully for less. There just isn't anything that is quite like Office yet. This doesn't mean I like Office, as I frequently clash with it, but it honestly gets a lot of jobs done better than its alternatives. I'm hoping that will continue to change.

    BTW- don't talk to me about running Microsoft Office on top of Linux. I don't care how you do it, it's a bad idea. Office is a broken product by Microsoft's standards. If you're using Linux, use software developed for Linux and you'll be much more satisfied.

    --
    I am feeling fat and sassy